But I ain't finished, I'm devoted
by Chyrstis
Summary: The years have not always been kind. The boss and her crew react, adapt, and change. (One-shots from SR1-IV)
1. Chapter 1

While working on Take Two I got hit by a bunch of little ideas. The first set might be limited to SR1, but they're going to eventually cover all games and feature most (if not all) of the characters. It's a way of filling in some of the blanks while also helping me get characterizations and events down on paper. Hooray for brainstorming, right?

There's no real order to this, but if one story references another, or comes before a certain point in the timeline I'll make sure to address it in the author's blurb at the start. I've actually been knocking these out over on Tumblr, so if you want to pop by there to see what I have, feel free! They're also up at AO3 if that's more your thing.

As a side note, expect someone to try to use the spears in Price's mansion at some point. It'll probably be Johnny.

General chronological order for these so far is: Ch. 20, 23, 1, 15, 27, 8, 24, 3, 11, 7, 5, 6, 13, 17, 12, 21, 10, 18, 14, 22, 2, 9, 19, 16, 25, 4, and 26.

* * *

"Yo, Sammy!" V gave a fistbump to one of the Saints standing by the side entrance. "You see Dex or Troy today?"

"Yeah, but I think Dex is tied up with the boss-man. Troy's somewhere inside. You got some shit to get done?"

"There's always shit, Sam, but I'd rather tackle it now than have it tackle me later. Going to hit up FB tonight?"

"Hell yeah, girl. Catch you there?"

"You know it," she said, grinning. "I'll give you a call later once things are done."

Things were looking pretty busy for an otherwise normal morning. Saints were moving in and out, all or most of them armed, and she hoped she could get in on the action as well. With all three gangs starting to take notice, the call for Saints to take up the cause was stronger than ever, and they needed their crew to stand tall. Hell, she needed to stand tall, and whenever she was left alone she always grew restless with nothing to do.

She found Troy near the back, sitting at a junky old table. Cigarette in hand, he waved once when he saw her, and she dragged over a chair to join him.

"Morning. Dex still with Julius?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't take much longer, but they've got a lot of stuff to cover."

"Ooh. Think I'll get to hear about any of it?"

"If they think you need to know," he said. "Should still be plenty of work to throw your way, though."

"Ugh. Got to deal with the suspense as always, then." She fished around in the pockets of her hoodie and removed a crumpled cigarette pack. Upon opening it, only one stared back at her. "Fuck. This is not going to last me all day."

Troy looked over and winced. "You lost count, didn't you?"

"I guess. I didn't think I was going through them that fast." She put it in her mouth and didn't bother lighting it. "Shit. I don't even know how many I'm averaging a day any more. Used to barely go through a pack, and now they're making a fortune off of me."

"That's how it starts, kid."

She tried not to frown at the name, but always did. "Speaking from experience? Being my esteemed elder and all?"

He caught the dig and frowned back. "Comes with the territory. Give it a few years and you'll start looking for excuses to talk about the good old days."

"Troy, you're what? Thirty? You're not that much older than me."

"I'm old enough," he replied, going back to his cigarette.

Choosing to ignore that, she spun her cigarette between her fingers, and focused on searching for her lighter. She found it just as the group at the front split to reveal Johnny, and almost set the sleeve of her hoodie on fire when she realized he was coming their way. He always moved like he had a purpose, and V sat up a little straighter when he got close.

"Julius in?"

Troy gestured towards the back. "He's with Dex. Carnales business."

"Fucking A. Dex needs a damn time limit." He raised his chin and glanced over the two of them. "Got a spare?"

"Afraid not," she said, keeping her cigarette spinning. "Down to one."

"Same here," Troy added.

"For real? I don't believe either of you motherfuckers for a second, but if that's the case-" He reached forward and snatched hers right out of her hand. "you won't mind me borrowing this, right?"

_Oh, he would. He would._ She shot forward and swiped at him. "Hey!"

"What? You weren't using it." Johnny popped the cigarette in his mouth and lit it. "And I don't want Troy's sloppy seconds."

Troy raised his eyebrows up and down once, shrugging. "Your loss, man."

She tried not to watch as Johnny took a drag off of it, but failed miserably. "Asshole. You owe me."

"Right. Like you owe me for the Attrazione you wrecked a few days ago? I think we're even," he said, smirking as he wandered off towards the office.

V waited until he was out of sight to put her chin in her hand. The huff of air she let out barely brushed her bangs. "…Are you really out?"

Troy held up the rapidly disappearing cigarette and placed it back between his lips. "Didn't have time to buy another pack this morning, so if you're wondering if I have any, you're looking at it."

"Crap. I really should work on that."

"Being prepared?" Troy smiled a bit, and leaned back in his chair. "Never did the scout thing, eh?"

"Not well." She frowned and picked at the wood on the old table. "My business pitch needed work. They also had a problem with scouts that tried to eat the merch instead of selling it. Big fucking deal."

Setting her head on her arms, she sighed deeply and stared a hole into the wall of the church. Troy watched her do this for a whole five minutes, each minute punctuated by a loud sigh. His fingers began tapping on the table, then stopped. "Getting desperate?"

"I would do damn near anything."

"You really do need to work on your pitch, kid," he said, giving her a look. "Too many people would take you up on that."

She pretended to bat her eyes at him. "And you?"

His lips became a thin line, but he quickly relaxed. "I'm a perfect fucking gentleman."

"Is that why you're going to offer yours?"

The corner of his mouth curved up. "If you don't mind my sloppy seconds."

He handed it over, and the eager smile covering her face must've made her look ridiculous. "You amazing thing, you." She inhaled and let out a smooth stream of smoke. "Not bad. I had an ex who used to smoke the worst off-brand cigarettes. Pretty damn gross. "

"Why'd they keep on buying them?"

"Cheap. She was always out of money and had to settle for whatever came along, and you know how it is when you need a fix. They have one on hand, you borrow it for a few, and then hand it right back. You don't complain, even if it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Besides, it was kinda sexy, you know?"

He kept an eye on her hand as it flicked at the ashes. "What?"

"Sharing," she said, looking at his cigarette. "It's really no different than sharing a beer, but there's just a hint of something about it that drives me nuts. …Even if back then it was like kissing a skunk. " V inhaled and tried to blow a smoke ring, the motion making her lips pop. The resulting ring fell apart fast. "Shit."

"You're choking on the last step."

Her eyebrow went up. "Oh? You want to demonstrate?"

"Sure thing, kid," he said, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He took it back and he produced a near perfect ring, following it up with a smaller one. "You're doing something weird with your mouth."

She had been biting her lip, but let it go and glared at him. "Says the expert."

"It's not even complicated. You've just got to be patient."

"Jerk," she teased, loving and hating the way he was making it look so easy. "You've got to teach me a few tricks."

"I don't do tricks. What does this look like? A magic show?"

"With your tongue pulling moves like that? Yeah." …That did not come out like she meant it to. Troy's odd look only made her flush harder as she let out a nervous laugh. "Um, yeah. Because that's exactly what I should be focusing on right now. Right." She folded her arms and stared at the entrance to the offices. "…Dex done yet?"

Troy chuckled. "Way to nail the recovery, V."

"Shut up."


	2. Chapter 2

SR2 time! Or rather that lovely space between SR2 and the Third.

* * *

V pushed open the doors to the police department and slapped her hands down on the receptionist's desk. "Hi. I'd like to make an appointment, please."

The woman gaped up at her. "…With?"

"The chief. That would be amazing."

She spent fifteen minutes handcuffed in a chair after that, her legs crossed and perched on the flimsy interrogation table.

It wasn't far off from what she expected.

The way the cops were hovering was annoying as hell, however, and she made of a game of trying to spook the one to her right. His hand kept going to his gun and she wished he'd make up his mind already.

She was in the process of trying to blow him a kiss when the door opened and Troy stepped in. The look of disapproval crossing his face was top-notch. On the other hand, he didn't seem surprised to see her at all, and she quickly assumed a more innocent position.

It sure was tough to make it plausible with her hands behind her back, and three cops ready to point their weapons at her head, though.

"Hey, Chief. Your welcome wagon could use a little work."

"Did you expect anything else?" he asked, folding his arms.

She let her eyes wander off to the side. "No…but I'm not exactly covered in weapons here."

Mr. Itchy Trigger Finger had a comment for that. "No guns, but three knives, sir."

"Man, you must really want that Christmas bonus," V muttered.

Troy sighed. "Get the cuffs off."

The cops surrounding her looked at each other then at him. "But, sir-"

"Remove them and step outside. I've got it from here."

"Sir, she's the-"

"Leader of the Saints. Yeah, I'm pretty damn aware of that," Troy snapped. "Now learn to take a fucking order and step outside."

They undid her handcuffs and left, leaving only the two of them in the blank, beige room. Troy made a motion to someone on the other side of the glass and sat down.

She rubbed her wrists and twisted the chair to the side to lean an arm on the back of it. With her hands now freed, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Got a light?" she asked, slipping one between her lips.

His rigid posture didn't relax one bit. "What do you want?"

"Okay, guess not." She pulled out her lighter and lit it, keeping her eyes on him. "We haven't exactly been big on social calls over the last few months or so, eh?"

"No."

"And the stint with Fuzz was kinda tacky. That didn't help, did it?"

"What do you want, V?" he asked again, his tone one-hundred percent cop. She wondered if she'd ever get used to that.

She inhaled and exhaled, blowing the smoke out of the side of her mouth. "I want to cooperate."

He placed his arms on his desk and leaned forward. "Cooperate?"

"Yeah, cooperate. I don't want to do this anymore. This weird tango with the cops. Johnny probably feels differently, but…he's Johnny. Nothing would make him happier than a department-sized weenie roast. No offense."

"None taken."

"Anyway, I know we've come to some sort of strange cease fire for a while now, but I want to make it official. Keep up with the proper documentation and all that. So, we'll pay you a certain amount a month, whatever that is we can go over no problem, and we'll continue to go about our daily lives. Simple, easy, works well for everyone."

Troy gave her a bitter smile. "You're talking about a consolation payment?"

She twirled the cigarette between her fingers and quirked the side of her mouth up. "A 'sorry for dealing with all of my shit' payment, actually. The department could use the money, and we could use the space."

"To go back to building and dealing?" Troy asked, skeptical as always.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you know what we currently deal in right now, aside from the cleanest drugs on the market? Clothing lines. Bobbleheads. A fucking energy drink. Shaundi's going into TV. Gat speaks to _children._ Still don't know how Pierce managed to swing that, but that's another story. The point is, that you could almost count us as people. Not just bangers, but people."

"Normal functioning members of society?"

"Nah," V said, ignoring the sarcastic jibe, "but we're a part of the city now. Hell, even Ultor's decided that out of all the colors to hang, purple might not be so bad. So, what do you say?"

Troy removed his hat and ran a hand over his face. "You're a piece of work, V."

"Marble, or one step short of the local yard flamingo?"

"I don't even fucking know."

Lowering his hand, he met her eyes again and V began to tap her fingers on her thigh. She sighed and wished this wasn't as difficult as they were both making it. "This isn't an ultimatum."

"But I don't have a choice either. Not with Ultor on one end and you on the other."

"It's not-" She bit down on the inside of her cheek and took in a deep breath. "Don't look at it that way. I'm not asking you to make huge changes, got it? The money's just a little something to deal with damage control. The deal itself is to help cut down on everything else. I'll even try to ask Johnny to tone it down a little."

"You're fucking with me."

"Okay, so no kumbaya, but how about I come at this another way. Johnny loves problems that help him get his hands dirty. I do too. How many of those problems end up walking out the courthouse on a bad week? We'll take care of those things free of charge."

"As our own friendly neighborhood contract killers? I'll pass. We can handle it."

"No, you can't. You know what I enjoy more than anything? Giving someone exactly what they deserve." _Maybe even twisting the knife a little as well._ "Half the people who walk end up pulling the same shit that got them thrown in jail to begin with. I'm just saying that if something ends up happening to them, would it really be a bad thing?"

He refused to answer.

V remembered something he had said to her a long time ago, back when she'd started. How you couldn't hesitate when dealing with guys like that. They'd kill you, and remorse would be the last thing on their minds. The temptation to throw that statement back at him was unbearable. "Okay, so saying it out loud's a dealbreaker. Fine. The other thing's still on the table, though. What do you say?"

"No."

"As for the Johnny thing, maybe I can distract him with more time at the demolition derby, or build a catapault-wait, what?"

Troy shook his head slowly. "No deal."

He grabbed his hat and V watched him leave, stupefied by his dismissal. When the door closed behind him it opened seconds later, revealing Mr. Enthusiastic. He appeared smug, and she sneered at him. "I'm here to escort you out."

"Oh, joy," she said, standing up. "Lead the way."

He didn't re-cuff her, which was a shame because breaking his nose would've been satisfying. He did, however, escort her off of the property, and refused to leave until she was in her car and driving off down the street. Cranking up the volume, she blared the loudest rock music she could manage and flashed him the finger as she sped by.

When the station was not even a blink in her mirror, she killed the radio and hit the steering wheel with her hand. "Fuck. Should've known better," she muttered, irritated at the sting of disappointment still present.

It hadn't been her best idea, but she'd tried. At least she had that.

Her phone began ringing, and she pulled it out to check the ID. She couldn't resist the smile that followed. "Hey. It's because I came on a bit too strong with the justice talk, right?"

"_You were damn near cheerful. Kinda puts people off,"_ Troy said, probably holed up in his office. _"Anyway, you want this to work?"_

V nodded. "Hell yeah."

"_Then I guess we've got a lot of shit to sort through, eh?"_


	3. Chapter 3

Back to SR1! Bugging Troy a lot, but I could always use more writing practice with him.

* * *

"She's getting better."

Troy scraped up whatever winnings Dex had left him and started putting the cards away. "Still doesn't know how to bet worth a damn, though. Half the money she wins almost immediately goes back into the pot."

"If she wants to keep what she earns she'll get it. Maybe not now, but it's got to get through to her sooner or later, right?" Dex opened the beer next to him, and nodded at the group of Saints walking by their table.

The game might've been done, but that didn't mean that the night at Tee'N'Ay was over. They all had a few hours left in them, and Troy could still stand to put back a few more drinks.

Dex usually stayed sober, preferring to nurse a beer or two over the evening, but tonight he was a bit looser than usual. Which made him more talkative than usual. Troy was pretty okay with this, but he wasn't sure what to file this information under yet.

The beer was half-empty when Dex spoke up again. "Funny how this is the thing she's awful at."

"Awful? I've seen worse. Most go for the driving first."

Dex tilted his head to the side as he considered it. "Don't know about that, man. Have you seen her work?"

"Seen her?" Troy dropped the cards and looked right at him. "I've been in the goddamn car with her. She can pull some wild stunts, but it takes years off of your life."

Dex laughed. "Still gets shit done. She's our top hijacker. You remember that story they did after the semi was hit, right? Nearly rolled it and crushed half the cars on the highway. Girl's a menace."

"She's reckless. There's a difference," Troy said, tapping his cigarette on the ashtray. "Besides, it's not like she hasn't cleared out half the things on your fucking checklist."

"True." Dex took a drink of his beer and looked towards the stage. "And your girl's done a hell of a lot to make the Carnales sweat."

"…My girl?" It sounded even more ridiculous coming out of his mouth, and he gave Dex a wry grin. "Don't remember her ever joining my crew officially. Think I'd remember that."

"She sure as hell isn't mine," Dex said. "Wish she was. Dedication like that's powerful."

Troy put down his beer, and gave Dex a measured glance. "And dangerous. That's why she's Julius's."

Dex didn't exactly meet his eye, but held up his beer in acknowledgment and tilted it back. "Also true. Probably a damn good thing she doesn't favor Johnny, right?"

"Don't even say things like that out loud. You'll jinx us," Troy joked.

"You're not the one who has to plan around him. If he had his say half of downtown would've been blown off of the fucking map. The VKs have to be feeling the heat."

"You know they are. They're just doing a damn good job of acting like it's nothing."

Dex raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and went back to watching the stage. Troy heard familiar laughter behind him and he wondered if that was one reason why Dex was keeping such a close eye on it. "Think V might be up for another shot at that?"

"Another shot at what?"

"The VKs."

Taking a long drag off of his cigarette, Troy exhaled and let the cig hang between his fingers. "Course she would."

"Might want to borrow her once this finishes up then. Shouldn't be too hard of a sell-" His words trailed off, and Dex's expression went quickly from confusion to stunned recognition.

There was a whoop, and Troy turned around only to have something hit him in the face. He pulled the sweatshirt off of his head and kept his eyes closed for a second. He then cracked both open.

V was in the process of trying to spin around the pole, and stumbled, falling right onto her side. She giggled like crazy, and the stripper next to her knelt down to see how she was doing.

"Okay, party's over," Troy sighed, getting up to check on her. "Might want to save the business talk for tomorrow when she's sober."

"Want some help?" Dex started to get up also, no longer shocked but curious.

His response to that came fast. "Nah, I got it. Just got to get her off stage before some dipshit starts chucking hundreds at her. Thanks for coming out, man."

"Sure thing," Dex replied, sparing her one last glance. The one he gave him wasn't as easy to read. "Just don't let her drive."

"No worries there," he promised, holding up the keys that V had left on the table earlier. "Got to see if she can nail walking first."

As of right now, that fact was debatable. V reached out an arm to him when Troy got close, rolling over to lie on her stomach. "Hey, Troy. Room's spinning a bit."

He did not remember walking by her hat. Or her shirt. The white tattoo on her shoulder stood out against her brown skin more than he remembered, and he wished he had another cigarette. The one he'd dropped was probably burning a hole in the carpet somewhere. "You didn't go for the drink special, did you?"

"What? You mean the blue stuff?" He felt her hand tug at his belt. "Might've had at least one."

"That's one too many, V. The damn thing's probably full of uppers."

"Oh, hush." She pushed herself up and the deep purple of her bra drew his eye against his better judgment. "I can be responsible. I know my limits."

"Sure you do."

He tried to grab her arm to help her get down, but she put it around his neck instead. "You know I do."

"Sure you do," Troy repeated, taking her in. She noticed this time and leaned in closer, her fingers playing with the back of his shirt. When her lips brushed his cheek he pulled back enough to gesture towards the floor, his throat dry. "Bet you can't walk a straight line without serious help."

"You're on," V said with a grin. She swung her feet out and hopped forward, collapsing into a heap on the floor. One of her arms went up and then hit the ground to steady herself. "I'm okay! Screwed up the landing, that's all."

The stripper that was still on stage raised her eyebrows. "Think you might need a hand there, hon."

_That's a fucking understatement,_ Troy noted, before kneeling down to help her up. "Easy there. You don't always have to take a flying leap."

He slung her arm around his shoulders and let her lean on him as they stood up. "That wasn't a leap. That was actually kinda awful."

"You got to start somewhere," he said, trying to keep an eye out for her clothes. They ambled back to his table, and she leaned against the edge as he helped her get her sweatshirt back on. "Wait here for a minute."

She watched the zipper go up, her arms perched on the flat surface behind her. "Sure thing, boss."

As he scooped up her hat and later her t-shirt, he strongly considered just pushing them into her hands and hailing her a taxi. It would be easier. It would be a hell of a lot easier, but being a dick to her wouldn't ensure that she got home in one piece.

Troy popped her hat onto her head, and she flicked at the brim. "You're the best."

"So you say, kid."

The word slipped out, half-reflex, half-defense. It was one of the few times that he wasn't sure if he'd meant it or not, but it was too late to take it back.

V laughed once and wandered towards the door, swaying with every other step. When he tried to put a hand on her back she half-heartedly swatted at it. "No thanks, old man. This kid's got it. Hasn't lost it."

She pitched forward when they got out the door, however, puking her guts out on the pavement. He managed to grab her hair and hat in one go, holding them back as far as possible.

After coughing a bit, she groaned. "Maybe not."

"Close enough for horseshoes, V."

"I guess." Her hand scrubbed at her mouth and she gave him a knowing look. "At least now you don't have to worry about me kissing you."

Troy let her walk ahead, her hat still in his hand. "Guess not."


	4. Chapter 4

And now for SR4. About time, right? There's going to be a small flood of SR1-based ones after this, though.

* * *

"Hey, come here for a second."

Johnny raised an eyebrow, but set his gun aside and hopped down from the weapons crates. V poked him hard in the arm, once, then twice. "Rock solid. Good. Still not a hallucination."

"I could've told you that."

"Sure," she said, walking back down the hall towards the stairs, "but I like proof. At least I didn't try to grab your ass."

"There's always next time, right?" he threw back, grinning.

"Dream on, Johnny."

He shook his head and climbed back up. Next time could be a thing.

* * *

She poked him in the shoulder instead. He flinched, then turned an angry look on her. "What?"

He was in the middle of an intense pool game with Asha, and it seemed like his advantage was slipping. He'd never admit to it, but the agent was too anal to ignore any mistakes, like the last one he'd made scratching the shot.

V held up both hands in defense. The strange expression on her face disappeared fast. "Nothing, man. Just...checking."

Asha chuckled, and he swore under his breath as she got ready to take her turn. "You're falling fast, Mr. Gat."

"Bullshit. I've got you exactly where I want you." He turned back to V. "You, not so much. You want to talk or just go on poking the shit out of people?"

She whistled. "Someone's testy. I'll just exit stage right before I get shanked." Slipping out into the hall, she stuck her head back in. "Oh, and Asha? If you could thrash him, that would be amazing."

"I think I can manage that," she replied, smirking.

Asha won, but barely. V laughed at his scowl the next time he saw her, but he couldn't stay mad.

* * *

The next time she attempted to check was when they were both cleaning the alien weapons in the armory. He was wiping the damned peashooter down when she rested a hand on his bicep, playing with the fabric of his suit. It was enough to make him come to an immediate stop. "V?"

Her hand jerked back. "Shit, sorry."

He looked her over and she actually appeared embarrassed. It was fucking odd. "Still solid enough to pass?"

"Enough," she said with a small smile, reassembling her weapon. "I did consider going for your ass, but I don't feel like getting shot today."

"You wound me, boss," he said, grinning and more than a little disappointed. "I'd at least warn you first."

* * *

They're in the simulation after that, Zin surrounding them, along with more than a few large fires.

Getting as much height as possible, he stomped down hard, scattering everything into the air. V managed to duck around it, spinning before tossing a fireball, and made a clean landing next to him. Picking off the flying Zin had become a small competition between the two, and she picked off five before he could swing his pistol back to get the other four.

She punched the air. "Hah! Five to four!"

"Shit. Course you're going to win when you slip in to clean up my leftovers."

"Oh, is that the sound of a sore loser? Why I must be imagining things," she said, twirling her phasers before putting them both away. "I can't be hearing that from _the_ Johnny Gat."

"Fuck you, man. I've got ten bullets for the next ten Zin we find. And I bet I can kill them all before you get off a single shot."

The challenge was out and she was ready to take it. "You're so on."

They hit the nearest Zin gathering, some flashpoint down the way from where they had started. His gun was already out, but jerked up when she reached over and grabbed him. His ass, actually.

V killed two before he was able to wipe out the rest, looking satisfied the whole time. "Solid."

She sped off before he could come up with something to say to that.

* * *

He got his revenge later when she was playing against Asha. It was only a round into their pool game and V was measuring her shot, balancing the cue carefully on her fingertips.

He didn't wait for her to finish. The cue went for his head seconds after he slapped her ass, and when it broke against the wall he knew it was worth it.

And the fact that he wanted to see her red-faced and gasping again didn't hurt.

* * *

They were doing their usual dance with a warden, dodging back and forth while balls of energy hit the pavement. V's moves were good, usually one step ahead, but it did something strange. Recalculated, or some shit.

It caught her in the stomach and threw her like a fastball, pitching her to the side. When she collided with him, it wasn't an issue, but she was wearing that embarrassed look again. As if she was unsure how to address any of this, when it was really quite simple.

He decided to try to snap her out of it. "I know I'm hot stuff, boss, but swooning's new for you."

"Oh, bite me," she shot back, amused. "It's not my fault you're running around in purple spandex. Was that seriously your idea?"

He honestly didn't have a clue, but that didn't mean he had to admit it. "You know you want it."

V pushed back at him, hiding a smile, and the warden roared nearby. The next blast sent both of them flying.

* * *

Later on, he was crouched on the ground, examining one of the simulation's generated weapons. It pulsed and shifted, drawing his attention long enough to distract him from the fingers brushing against the back of his neck. The soft touch made him tense.

His hand caught hers before she could remove it, and she tried to stay neutral. "Last time, I swear."

"It's cool, boss." He squeezed her hand and let it go. "Old habits."

"Got a little too used to that one, though. Didn't want to."

"Now you won't have to."

The statement made her look away, and she went ahead. He gave her a minute before catching up.

* * *

Her hands were all over him. Not poking, not checking, but grabbing at him. Pulling him as close as possible while also tugging at his suit.

The zipper to hers was already broken, hanging around her navel, and he took the liberty of touching every exposed inch of her. Wasn't difficult with it half-pushed off of her shoulders, and he moved it down further as he kept on exploring.

He sucked hard on a spot on her neck, and she ran her fingers through his hair, biting back a moan. It slipped out when he ground his hips against her, and she met him for every movement. It made him want to rip the rest of the suit off of her.

"Solid enough for you?" he asked, growing harder by the second.

"You're awful," she gasped, kissing him. "You're awful and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Same here, V," he murmured, holding her tightly. "Same here."


	5. Chapter 5

SR1 time! Also, holy long ficlet, Batman.

* * *

This was the best hand that she had ever seen in her life.

At least she was sure it was. Her poker experience had seen more highs and lows than Stilwater's university crowd, so as she sighed and set it down she wasn't sure what to do with it.

Winning was the obvious pick, but even then it was hard to tell if it would work with the group surrounding her. They were often blank-faced or full of barbs, but tonight they were a bit more subdued. After the shoot out by the Carnales a few days before it was understandable.

It had thrown them off, but it hadn't broken them, something the Carnales had intended by sending one of the toughest motherfuckers in existence at them. The message sent back by their victory had to have caused waves, and now they were getting back into their old routine. Nothing said 'I don't give a shit' like poker, strippers, and good company.

Stu, on her right, was staring at his cards intently, likely wondering just what the hell had made its way into his hand. Luis on the other end seemed unhappy, and wrinkled his nose. Dee didn't even bother putting up a front. She set her cards down and drank, putting back another beer.

That left Troy, and he was tapping his cards against the table, lost in thought. He caught her looking over – he always did – and gestured towards her. "Bad hand?"

She took a careful pull of her cigarette and leaned back in her chair. "You're hoping I have one."

"Not always." He smiled. "Just most of the time."

"Jerk," she said, flipping her cards back up. "I'm never wishing you good luck ever again."

Since Dex wasn't there he was the one to beat, but he'd taken it easy for most of the rounds that night. A few wins, a few losses, no giant payout.

It shouldn't have struck her as strange, but she was suspicious as hell as they kept spying on each other. One of her fingers had begun to play with a pigtail, and she did her best not to drop it when he glanced over.

"Stop being a tease, V," Dee said from across the table. "You know it's your turn, right?"

She snapped out of it and the table snickered. Troy hid his grin behind his hand, and V knew she had to be blushing. "Shit. Why didn't someone kick me?"

"No guarantee I'd get the leg back," Stu said, taking the punch in his arm with ease. "Then again, after a shot like that maybe I would."

"Fuck you, man. I raise." She slapped a hundred into the pile and tried not to regret it.

Luis whistled and half the table groaned. "Going for the good stuff, eh?"

"Maybe." She put her chin in her hand and chewed on her lip. "Maybe not. Though I'm wondering what sorry cards you're all packing to get a reaction like that."

Luis folded, then Dee. Troy tilted his head to the side and exhaled, his fingers holding his cigarette tightly. "I'll see your bet, V."

_Shit._ She was afraid of this, but he seemed tense. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. "You'd better be hiding something nice under there."

"Only one way to find out, right?"

_I'll say._ She lowered her lashes and tried not to grin. "Anyone else?" They folded and V turned her attention back to Troy. "You ready?"

"You know it," he replied, his hand on his cards.

They flipped them over at the same time. V held her breath, then let out a large cheer as she raised both of her arms. "Fucking magical!"

It took a second to sink in, but Troy put a hand over his eyes and sighed. "Real fucking magical."

Stu slapped her on the back and she reached forward to scrape together her winnings, a shit-eating grin on her face. "This almost makes up for last time. Almost."

Luis leaned forward. "What do you say, double or nothing? You can fly pretty high after a round like that, girl."

"Oh, I don't think so," V said, sitting back in her seat. "You pulled that shit last game, and I'm not letting you get the drop on me again. I've got better things to do with this money than just throw it at you."

"Lap dance's cheaper, anyway," Stu grumbled.

"Or shots," Dee added. "Does that mean you're done?"

"Yep. I'm retiring to the bar to drink away my earnings like a champ." She pulled out her wallet and put the money away before standing up. "Thanks for being an amazing enabler, Troy."

He gave her the finger as she left and she whistled all the way to the bartender. Only a sliver of her winnings actually went towards drinking the overpriced booze, and she savored the drink with the tiny umbrella as everyone else kept on playing. However, her self-imposed vacation did not last long.

She finished half of the purple mixture and walked back over to circle the table, watching everyone closely. Half the fun of not playing was getting an inside look at her friends' cards, though some were more likely to flash them than others. Luis was a 50/50 shot. Dee 80/20. Stu? 70/30 depending on the day and how much she teased him. Troy was also roughly a 50/50, but she suspected that was because he knew she was picking up on their tricks. He wasn't completely wrong.

The corner of Troy's mouth curved up when she peered over his shoulder, and he held up his cards for her. "What do you think?"

His hand was pretty damn good. Almost depressingly so. "You're asking the wrong person, Troy, unless that's your way of asking me to blow on them." He gave her a look, and she batted her eyes at him. "What? Didn't say I wouldn't."

"Fuck, if you're offering, I'll take you up on that," Stu said, grinning.

Dee rolled her eyes. "Keep your dick in your pants. There's a reason that's a dice trick."

V laughed and Troy held up his cards again. It took her a second to notice the playful look he was sporting. "Why not? Pretty girl makes an offer, better not turn it down."

She could count the number of times he'd ever referred to her as attractive on one hand. Giving his cards an awkward blow, she retreated back towards the bar and downed the rest of her drink.

The rest of her time was spent twirling the umbrella and smoking her cigarette down to a stub. It was easier to occupy her mind that way. Any buzz she'd picked up from the drink had faded by the time Troy wandered over later, and she spun around in her seat to face him. "Good haul?"

"Good enough. Had to work hard to recoup what I lost to you, but the others are feeling it more than me." He leaned an arm on the bar beside her and glanced back towards the table. "When you clean us out, you clean us out."

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him. "I'm starting to recognize my 'on' days."

"Who's your ride? I didn't see your car in the parking lot."

"Stu. He drove me over right from the church once we were done messing around with the VKs. Johnny had us running them down all day, so the last thing I felt like was driving tonight. Thought I'd just snag a ride back if he wasn't too wasted."

"I can take you. It's not far."

Troy was a hell of a lot more sober than Stu, and to be frank, a much better driver. He was also Troy, and she had a hard time turning down any offer he threw her way. "Sure." She put out what was left of her cigarette and got up.

It was hazy outside, half of it the weather's fault, the other half the crowd that hung around outside. It wasn't as bad as it was in the summer, but it was present enough for anyone to take notice, minus anyone tripping on the local Colombian offering. V glanced up at the flashing lights before following Troy, and tried not to laugh at the perpetually malfunctioning sign on the front.

He was waiting for her by his car with a fresh cigarette in his hand. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Just admiring the scenery. When this place isn't full of loud drunks, it's actually kinda nice out here."

"Kinda is, isn't it? Short of the naked woman blinking on the side, it's almost classy."

She put her hands in her pockets and dug the toe of her boot into the ground. "Wasn't really complaining about that..."

"Right," he replied, giving her a faint grin.

They stepped into his car and he offered her a cigarette, holding out the pack just as she was buckling her seatbelt. She turned him down and they got going, heading down the mostly empty streets.

The late nights always left their area of the row a bit calmer, which was a large change from how it used to be with the other gangs crawling around. Now she could spend hours outside of her apartment doing anything from hanging out to taking a nap without worrying about getting mugged. It definitely made things a lot easier with half of the plans they tried to pull in the evening, and it certainly made things easier for the others living there.

They pulled into the parking lot, not a single other person in sight, and she yawned. It really was a lot later than she expected. "Thanks, man. You know you don't need to go out of your way for me, right?"

"You're close. It's never a problem."

"Sure it isn't." V glanced down at her feet, then back at him. "Don't think I'm going to win like that again."

"Why not? You're getting pretty damn good at hiding your tells."

She rolled her eyes. "Bullshit. You know exactly when I'm messing around. Every time."

"Not every time." Troy gave her a small smile. "Think you're starting to see through mine, though."

"Maybe." V wet her lips and took in a deep breath. "I'd like to."

Her mind was caught between the safe choice and the stupid choice at the moment, with the stupid one taking the lead. Maybe it was the hour, maybe it was her, but she wanted to take it. Just to see.

She leaned over in her seat and took the cigarette out of his mouth, pulling a long drag from it as he watched her closely. His eyes were on her lips as she exhaled, and once she was done she stubbed the cigarette out in his car's ashtray. Kissing him was simple after that. One finger hooked the gold chain hanging around his neck and tugged him forward, just enough for her to close the distance. She didn't open her mouth or try to make him respond to her. She just wanted this if only for a minute. Just once.

Her heart felt like it was beating double-time as she pulled back. "Sorry. Been thinking about that, and there's only one way to find out, right?"

Troy blinked once, then twice. Then he was pulling her forward, his hand tangled in the hair behind her head. It was rough. She felt her lips tingle as he kissed her hard, and she wanted more. Whatever he would give her.

When he withdrew something flashed across his face, hesitation, or something close to it, but it left just as fast when she kissed him back. He pulled her forward again, and she moaned when his tongue slipped into her mouth, skipping any teasing in favor of being more direct. It made her legs shake as she pushed herself up over the console, and when she finally straddled his lap, it was all she could do not to grind against him until he was just as breathless.

Her hoodie went to the side, his eyes on her even as she was undoing the zipper, and she pushed him back against the seat, her hand going for his belt. His grip on her hips tightened when she backed off enough to slip her fingers past his boxers, and when she wrapped her hand around him he couldn't hold back a groan.

Her thighs tensed, and she wished they weren't in such a small, cramped space right now.

She kissed his jaw as he swore under his breath, each line of profanity punctuated by a different stroke. He was in the process of saying a phrase that made even her blush when he decided to use his hands again to drag her tank top off. It hit the dashboard and he buried his face in her neck, mouth somewhere over her pulse.

Her bra followed shortly after and she bit her bottom lip as he ran his thumb over a nipple. Her nails dug into the drivers seat, anchoring her, and she let go briefly to run her fingers through his hair. That earned V a kiss on the corner of her mouth, and he cupped her face as she ran her tongue along his lips, kissing her properly soon after.

Her hand kept moving, slow and tight, and he let out a shaky breath when she paused to suck on the skin above the collar of his shirt. His clothes were still on, and she briefly lamented the tragedy as she ran a hand under his shirt and undershirt. He was in damn good shape, they all had to be, but she still raised an appreciative eyebrow when she tugged the shirts up to get a better look at him.

The look he gave her in return made her want to shove him into the backseat to take things further, but this felt too urgent, too short. Too surreal.

And whatever window she had to finish this felt like it was closing fast.

Troy started when she kicked open the driver's side door and planted her feet on the ground. She knelt beside him and any questions he had were lost when she took him into her mouth, resuming the same pace as before. His breathing hitched, then grew ragged, and she tried not to moan.

She felt a hand run through her hair as she worked, then grip it tightly. Each reflexive movement felt like it was being wrenched out of him as he came, and the low groan that accompanied it nearly made her put her hand between her legs.

However, as she stood up and wiped her mouth, she became aware of a few things. She was still in her apartment parking lot, her top was still in Troy's car, and she had just sucked off her unofficial secondary mentor figure. It sounded worse in her head when she put it that way, but part of her wondered if she was doing it on purpose. Prepping for the inevitable disappointment.

It was probably better that way.

V placed a hand on the door as a flushed Troy redid his pants, and she gestured towards her clothes. "Uh, thanks for the ride. Could you...?" He stared at her for a good second, noticing the way she tried to avoid meeting his eye, then handed her back her things. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She tossed on her tank top as she jogged towards her door, shutting it loudly behind her. He called after her, but didn't follow.


	6. Chapter 6

Continuation of the previous part. Still sticking with SR1 for now!

* * *

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," V chanted to herself as she slipped into one of the side entrances of the church. If her timing was right she should be able to locate Dex, and only Dex.

She wanted work. Needed work. Sitting alone with nothing to do was the last thing she wanted right now, and the nervous energy running through her needed a better outlet than tapping her foot and feeling sorry for herself.

He was talking to Johnny - something which nearly made her backpedal out of the room - but pushed forward anyway. The promise of a list of things to do was too appealing to pass up.

"Hey, how's it going?" Dex asked, smiling as she walked up to them.

She laid her hand flat in the air and tilted it from side to side. "So-so. I've been better."

"For real? After what I heard you won last night? I'd be feeling pretty good."

"Well, you usually feel amazing after doing a line of coke, but you've got to come down at some point, right?"

"Bad end, then," Johnny guessed, and V made sure she wasn't looking in his direction. "Should've skipped the lap dance."

"So, Dex," she said, speaking up to keep Johnny from going on, "got anything for me?"

Dex usually didn't think much of it and just gave her something to do. Today he had a skeptical look on him. "Already gave you most of the major stuff. I've got some other things cooking on the backburner, but..."

"I'll do it."

The two men turned towards each other, then back to her, both of them mystified. "Okay. Usually we save this for some of the newer crew, but if you've got time to burn, then why not?"

* * *

Collecting the money took an hour, tops. Dex had warned her, but as she stomped back in she didn't care. "All done."

Johnny eyed her up and down. "Something on fire?"

"Yeah, me," V replied, folding her arms. "Anything else?"

They appeared to have still been discussing plans about the Vice Kings, but Dex shrugged and pulled a list off of the wall. "If you're still asking. Surprised Troy's got nothing for you."

"Haven't asked." The words slipped out and she wanted to kick herself.

Johnny was definitely looking her over with interest now. "That's a fucking surprise. The hell are you in here then?"

"Felt like ruining a lot of VKs' day. No better way to do that than to ask the local experts."

"Bullshit," Gat countered, but Dex waved him off.

"Ain't nothing wrong with that. We do need someone to take the heat off of us while I see if this angle works. This should keep you busy for a while until we get something else lined up." Dex held the list out, but pulled it back when she reached for it. "Call if anything comes up."

That sounded like an order. She nodded quickly and grabbed again for the list. "Got it."

He still didn't let her have it yet. "I mean it. Call. Any questions, anything, just call."

"Sure, man. Got it," she said, plucking it out of his hand.

On her way out she bummed a cigarette from one of the Saints hanging in the cemetery, and as she lit it she saw Troy's car pull up on the side. Playing it casual, she took a long drag off of her smoke and made her way towards the other end of the tombstones so she could jump the fence.

Stupid? Yes. Petty? Not really. Necessary? For now.

She resumed her chant as she jogged home to grab some extra ammo, and hoped she'd run into a Raycaster along the way.

* * *

Dex had been right. The little list of things did keep her occupied, and as she kept checking them off she found her mood going through the roof. Sometimes busywork really was the best cure, and half of the tasks didn't even have strict guidelines to meet.

So, if she needed to send a message to a rival gang, she could absolutely do so by spraypainting obscenities on the sides of their car. For some it'd been an improvement. Other cars she just slashed the tires of.

Eight cars later, she dispensed with the subtlety, bought a string of firecrackers, and just tossed a set into one of their local hangouts. That had more of an immediate effect, and the resulting chase burnt off whatever tension had been left.

After hitting the Forgive and Forget, she scratched that task off, and found herself staring at a blank line. "Shit." She groaned as she pulled out her phone and hoped that Dex wouldn't give her any crap about this.

"_What's happening?"_

"Hey, it's me. I might've been a bit ambitious."

"_...Are you serious?"_

"Yep."

"_Even with the extra bit from Johnny?"_

"Yeah. Whoops."

He sighed. _"Shit, girl. You really are a menace. Come back to the church and maybe we can figure something out."_

Sighing herself, she hung up and kicked the broken bumper of her Halberd. It creaked then fell off. "I love you too, you piece of shit," she muttered, climbing back into the driver's seat.

* * *

The loudest rock music she could find blared out of her open windows as she drove the janky car into something resembling a parking space. The dent from the last time she'd parked there was still present, so she used it as a point of reference.

Dee was passing a joint around as she walked up to the side of the church, and V gave her a fistbump as she went inside. The others didn't seem to be around, but it wasn't even that late in the evening yet. Most wouldn't be by until one to two in the morning.

Dex was holed up in the office she'd cornered him in earlier, but wasn't alone. Johnny sat to one side of him along with Troy, and all three turned to acknowledge her as she came in. It made her bristle, and she wasn't sure who to be pissed at more.

Troy greeted her first, cigarette in hand. "Hey."

"Hey. How's it going?" she asked, shoving her hands into her pockets.

His smile was muted, but still present. "Been better. Heard you've been looking for work?"

_You bastards._ She saw Johnny's smirk, and gave Troy a non-committal shrug. "Kind of."

"Kind of?" Johnny asked, both of his feet propped on the desk, bum knee and all. "That's a change. A few days ago you were begging us for shit to do."

"Dex, not you," she corrected, pointing at Dex. "I know better than to ask you about work. Almost got my ass arrested yesterday, by the way!"

"You know you had fun," Johnny said, and she actually found herself smiling a little.

"Fine, maybe I can give you that, but a girl can only set so many things on fire. ...And I'm sure as hell not counting myself."

"She's got a point," Dex added, leaning back in his chair. "Third-degree burns hurt like a motherfucker."

"You still looking?" Troy asked, shifting her attention back to him. He'd turned away to exhale, and she watched him do so. "I think I can dig up a job or two."

Picking at a loose thread in her pocket, she twisted it around her finger and tried to snap it. "Sure, why not? I think Dex would appreciate the break instead of having me blow up his phone the minute things dry up."

"You want to talk about it later? Over coffee, or something?"

"Coffee? Uh, okay." His easy tone was confusing her. It had to have shown on her face by now, and her feelings took a lovely dig at her insides. It nearly made her scowl in response. "I just remembered I've got extra shit to do, so call me and we'll figure something out."

He nodded, either unaware of her discomfort, or all too aware of it. She hoped it was the first instead of the second. "Sounds good."

"Cool, I'm out. Catch you all later."

As she stomped out to her car, she pulled out the crumpled pack of cigarettes in her pocket. The crumpled, empty pack.

V threw it at the nearest trash can and sped off, nearly clipping an older gentleman on the sidewalk. She barely caught the finger he was flashing in the rearview mirror as she left.

* * *

Troy called her later that night when she was back at home, scrubbing her coffee pot. It'd been a week since she'd cleaned it and the damn thing was looking stained. Giving her scrubbing job a skeptical glance, she threw it back in the soapy water and told him he was free to come over whenever he had time.

"_Would now work?"_

She lifted up the pot again and tilted her head to the side. Those stains were definitely not coming out. "If you want."

"_See you soon, then."_

"Sure thing."

The phone went over in the general direction of her bed as she started round two with the glass container, and prayed it would be something close to clean before he walked through that door. Screw the rest of her apartment. It was passable. The coffee pot she wanted spotless.

Maybe that was how she knew she was a bit hopeless when it came to him. Even now she wanted to shine the damn thing until it glistened.

The coffee maker was in the process of spitting coffee out when he finally showed up, knocking with the same authority he always did. Loud and two to three at a time.

She didn't bother checking. After unlocking it she tugged it open once and walked back into the kitchen. "Door's open."

"So much for worrying about being stood up," she heard him say as he closed and locked it behind him.

"So you could stand on my non-existent porch all night? That's pretty damn cruel, even for me, man." She found two clean cups and set them aside, pretending to stay busy. "I'd invite you inside. Eventually."

"Good to hear." Peeking over the counter, she noticed the small smile on his face, but looked away before they could make eye contact. "...You know we could've just met somewhere else, right?"

She had no choice but to look up now. "Yeah, I know."

"Because I could've sworn that was on the fritz last time."

"It was. Not now." V grabbed the cups and handed one to him as he came closer to inspect the slightly ancient Mr. Coffee machine. "At least it seems to be working."

"Huh. Guess so."

He was halfway through his current cigarette and she resisted the urge to ask him for one. The urge to steal his was just as bad, and she fiddled with the machine's controls to encourage it to go faster. It didn't.

"This thing is slower than traffic going through a school zone. Jesus." Troy was watching her now instead of the machine, and she glared at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, vaguely amused.

_Liar._ V hit the machine two more times then took what was there and poured it into her cup. She choked. "That's just fucking toxic, don't even try it," she said, taking his cup away. "God. That's almost weapons-grade."

"Can't be worse than some of the shit I've had, V," he replied, reaching around her.

She blocked him. "Trust me. You're better off." She reached over the counter to pour the rest out in the sink and sighed. "Thing holds a grudge. It has to."

With that wasted, she placed her cup on the counter and chewed on her lip as she weighed her options. After thirty seconds of doing so, she finally just said 'Fuck it', and turned to face him directly.

"Look, I like you. A lot. ...And I'm going to butcher the hell out this, but just hear me out, okay? I jumped you. Might've jumped more than a few steps as well, and now I'm worried I might've fucked something up somewhere. So, if you want to back up, scratch the last few days off of the calendar and pretend nothing happened, I'm willing to give you a free pass."

He was stunned. Maybe even confused to the point that he was wondering if English was coming out of her mouth. "What?"

"I'm saying that I acted like a fucking idiot, and if you want to forget about it I'm okay with that."

The expression on his face did a clear one-eighty, and she almost felt pinned by it. "The fuck, V?"

"What? I'm serious! I jumped right from first base to third and three-quarters, and the only thing that stopped me from banging you that night was your goddamn driver's seat. I think I went a little overboard."

"Right." He crossed his arms and she couldn't tell if he was more irritated than angry. "And your clothes just flew off on their own. Magically removed themselves."

She shrugged. "It's happened before. Not often, but after a full bottle of tequila anything's possible. I don't ask questions. Anyway, that's what's on the table. I'm just thinking ahead, you know? I don't want you to back off or avoid me just because I couldn't keep my hands to myself."

"That's...it's not that," he answered tersely.

That confused her, more than a little. "It's like I said before. I like you. I just don't want every other time you're around me to be miserable because I pulled a shit move."

"It wasn't." Troy glanced back at her and let his eyes settle somewhere off to the side. "I'm just still going over it. Processing it."

"Oh." She swallowed the lump in her throat and wasn't sure how to feel. "I knew I threw you off a little."

"That's a fucking understatement," he admitted, puffing away at his cigarette. "You kicked me off a goddamn cliff."

"Troy, I've thought about you fucking me over the hood of your car. Me being sexually attracted to you shouldn't be that hard to believe."

There was that blank look again. Then a borderline embarrassed one. "Huh."

Okay, maybe she hadn't meant to actually admit that out loud. "I might've let my mind wander a bit after the race against the Rollerz. Adrenaline high's a bitch alone. Anyway, I had a point to this, but I keep on losing it. So, yeah. Option one's still available, and you can pick it any time you want. No harm, no foul. Option two's full of awkward acknowledgment, but has the added benefit of me fucking off if it helps."

His mouth twisted. "It doesn't."

"Okay, then maybe special option number three?"

"Three?"

"If you ever get stressed out, jumpy or uh, touchy, you could come over for a while. Just to burn it off, you know? Keep it on the down-low, casual. I'm still technically under you." She paused. "...Shit, bad word choice, but if no one knows about it we can pretty much do whatever the hell we want with it."

"That's your wild card?"

It was a stretch. "Kinda. If you want."

"If _I_ want?" he asked, as if the idea was just ridiculous.

"Yeah."

The time he took to think about that made her dig her nails into her palms. After a while, though, he ran a hand over his face and met her eyes again. "...And what about you?"

"Me?"

He gestured right towards her, his eyes pinning her again. "Yeah, you. You want this?"

It had to have shown, just for a second. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ She opened and closed her mouth, her brain flapping around like a fish before settling. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I do. I took a hellish route to get here, but I'm starting to think that's my thing. Over-complicating stuff."

"Because it's supposed to be simple, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Real fucking simple."

Troy's expression softened, almost turning fond, and pretty much went back to normal. "Then I don't know what the problem is."

"Wait, what?" It was her turn to blink dumbly at him as he put out his old cigarette and lit a new one. "...That's it? We're settled?"

He shrugged. "Yep."

"And you're okay with this? Whatever this is?"

"Yep." Another puff of his cigarette and he seemed downright relaxed.

That _infuriated_ her. "You asshole. I worried about this conversation for two days straight."

He gave her a look. "You think you were the only one?"

"Hell no, but I wasn't expecting this. Maybe you'd humor me a bit. See how long we could be awkward in the same space before running the other out. Not..." She dragged her hat down over her face and let out a frustrated noise. "Ugh, motherfucker. Sometimes I wonder if I do this to myself on purpose."

Troy took the brim of her hat and nudged it up, catching her eye. "Don't worry about it."

"Easier said than done, chief, but thanks," she said, feeling sheepish. "My face is pretty damn red right now, isn't it?"

He brushed his fingers against her cheek and she knew that didn't help. "Hadn't noticed."

"Liar. So...we're cool, right?"

"Frosty."

He gave her a crooked smile and she still felt kind of like an idiot. One confused, hopeful idiot. So she then did what came naturally. Act like a bigger one.

"Cool, so uh, want to fuck?"

He blinked as if she had just slapped him in the face. "What?"

"Um, that might've been too blunt," she muttered, cringing. "I might've used up all of my seduction points the other night. You know, with the thing and the uh, car."

"You know that's on the same level as the 'Nice shoes, want to fuck?' line, right?"

"No, but it's probably just as effective." _i.e. Not. _"Though if that line came from you, then I know I need to hear the story behind that."

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply. "God, you're a piece of work, V."

"But I'm not a bad one, right?" she asked, as he put his cigarette down on the edge of one of her many ashtrays. "Still semi-desirable? At least a tiny bit fuckable?"

The expression he gave her wasn't amused at all. Expecting that exact reaction, she pretended to sigh dejectedly and walked around him so she could at least salvage the evening with a beer.

She didn't even make it to the fridge. He intercepted her and planted a kiss on her, pushing her back against the counter. A minute later they were in her bed and he was peeling her jeans off of her legs. Not as expected, but easily appreciated.

"You could've just said yes." she said, wiggling out of her shirt.

"Could've." He slid her underwear down next, and her breath caught in her throat. "Course I could've, but I'm starting to think we both deserve fucking medals for complicating things."

"Go gold or go home, right?" she joked, liking the way his eyes were slowly tracing over her. "And now I'm thinking of that stupid line."

"Which one?"

"The one with the shoes. Oh, Jesus-"

She felt his breath on her for a second, then bit the inside of her cheek hard. He touched her again and she bit down harder. The cool metal of his watch ran up and down her thigh as his hand moved, and she couldn't string together a sentence to save her life.

Swearing was easy enough though. They definitely had that in common.


	7. Chapter 7

SR1 again, and more Johnny. Never a bad thing, right?

* * *

The yellow hoodie was baggy and at least two sizes too large for her. It was also not her color at all. Whoever was behind the register of the shop didn't know that though, or care with the handgun currently being aimed at their head.

V yawned, and waved her gun a bit. "Mind hitting that tiny button for me?"

"W-what?"

"You know, the button." V said, as Johnny kicked over a display and went over to the next. "The one that activates the loud bells and all the whistles. It's been a slow week for us. Help a girl out."

The woman hesitated, then slowly lowered one arm to reach under the counter for the alarm.

It blared and V let an expectant smile grace her face. "Mr. King thanks you for your cooperation." She then put two bullets in the ceiling and ran for the door.

Johnny had his shotgun out when the first cop car arrived and unloaded it into the windshield. His aim was good in ways hers never could be, and she winced as he took another shot for good measure. If the cops weren't out to get them before, they were now.

A sweet looking Bootlegger tried to swerve around her, but hit their brakes when she refused to budge. It hit hard enough to bruise, but didn't knock her off of her feet. "Hey, you!" She slid off of the hood and kept her gun between the man's eyes. "Get the fuck out!"

He ran for it and the two of them piled into the car just as the second Five-O showed up. "You ready for this?" Gat asked, reloading his shotgun.

She took a deep breath. "I'm either going to love this or regret this. Maybe both."

"Nothing to regret here aside from the colors we're wearing. To see the look on that motherfucker's face when the news comes on…"

King was going to be pissed. Calls had to be going out right now, and as they sped towards the shops downtown they were only going to increase in volume. It brought a smile to her face.

Halfway through the torching of a shop that catered only to the so-called elite, V realized she wasn't regretting much either. The smug asshole at the front ran away the minute they smashed the window, and Gat's molotov made sure that no one else stuck around. She laughed, actually laughed when Gat threw on the largest obnoxious chain the store offered, and piled two or three around her neck when she wasn't shoving rings onto her hands.

It was the stupid kind of fun she missed, and they charged out towards their car as the cops barricaded the front, hooting and hollering King's praises. Somehow they made it inside without getting winged and she threw the Bootlegger into reverse only to hit a news van.

She got the car moving just in time to avoid being sandwiched in by the police, and Johnny tapped his gun against his leg. "Okay, we have their attention. Now to try something different. You like art?"

"What?" A pedestrian dove out of their way and V almost rode the sidewalk to avoid them. "Depends on the definition."

"Of what?"

"Art. Paintings I'm cool with. Blinking lights in empty rooms, not so much."

"Think you'll like this one then. You know those bowling pins they have in Brighton? The ones that the city commissioned or some shit? I bet you can't knock them down."

Those pins wouldn't budge easily. Not without a lot of force backing her up, but she didn't care, not when she had a car in decent shape and a prick to prove wrong. "You're on."

The cops behind them had no idea what was coming. To be honest, neither did she, not when she hit the jump at the speed she did.

The car slammed into the pins, scattering them as the vehicle skidded over the uneven surface. Her hands clutched the wheel so tightly it hurt, and as she spun to compensate the car ran out of concrete to skate on. Her seatbelt held her down as the wheels hit the ground, shaking the entire framework around them.

"…Fuck me," she gasped, dully aware that they were not dead or on their way to the hospital.

Johnny almost looked impressed. "Okay, that was pretty tight. Should probably get moving before the others catch up though."

She didn't need to be told twice. Stomping down on the gas, she was amazed that the car was even capable of moving after a stunt like that. It slid onto the pavement, and she strongly considered keeping it. "I should bronze this thing once we're done. Bronze it and never take it on the road ever again."

"All that for a shitty Bootlegger? Not even worth it."

"I'm still able to bitch at you. It's worth it," V replied, still catching her breath. "God, it's worth it."

That made him look at her. Hell, he might have even raked his eyes over her. It was difficult to tell with her attention split between him and the flashing lights in the rearview mirror. "You're getting off on this, aren't you?"

"No." They cut around a car and she realized her heart was pounding harder than usual. "Well, not exactly. …But I'd be lying if I said that this doesn't feel fucking amazing."

"Good to know," he said, a wicked grin on his face.

The next sharp turn she took sent them sliding into a van, and she scraped the side as they flew forward. It did little to affect the rush of energy gripping her, but she was fine with that. She almost didn't want it to stop. "What's next?"

"Hughes. That fucking statue of his needs to disappear. This isn't going to do shit to it, though. We need something bigger."

"Like, van bigger, or bulldozer bigger?"

Gat thought about it for a second then nodded in agreement. "Bulldozer should do it. I like the way you think. There's a warehouse nearby. Let's see if we can borrow it for a while, perform a duty as citizens of Stilwater."

Sure enough one was waiting there, like a bizarre gift from a higher power. Johnny covered her as she messed with the controls, shouting odd directions as she got it going. As to why he wasn't driving it instead she wasn't sure, but she wasn't about to challenge him on that with the half the department on their asses.

"Now we're going to wipe out that statue," he told her between shots. "Do some proper redecorating."

"So you do know how to show a girl a good time after all," she said, clearing the road through nothing short of brute force. The Rollerz had thrown their lot into the fight and she aimed for them directly, crushing anything blue that dared get in front of her. The bulldozer made it too easy not to.

Johnny put a hand on the back of her seat and he leaned in by her ear. "I do have my ways."

Oh, she liked that. That low tone pitched just right. Bastard. "Hughes is going to have to spend a lot of money after this."

"Good."

He went back to firing on the cops pursuing them, and V waited for the statue to come into view. Construction equipment was not known for its speed, and it crawled up the hill as bullets flew over her head.

"Come on, you piece of shit!" It lurched and she heard the crunch of a car being pulled under. "We are making this happen!"

They plowed right into it, jumping out seconds before the impact. The cars piled into each other as the stone Earth came down, flattening everything in its way. It rolled off to the side as she climbed to her feet and Johnny barely missed a falling arm himself.

"One last thing before we go."

She saw the grenade and whistled. "A lovely parting gift?"

"You know what? You're all right," he replied, throwing it as far as he could manage.

The giddy feeling that inspired made her want to slap herself. "Flatterer. You owe me booze, by the way."

"That's what you decided on?" he asked as the site of the statue caught fire. "Better be cheap."

"Oh no, you're buying. I've got something top shelf in mind. High-proof. Maybe if you ask nicely I'll share it."

They headed into the bushes and she heard him chuckle. "Maybe I will."


	8. Chapter 8

Just something short that happens not too long after the race against the Rollerz in SR1. Kind of silly, but not too much I hope? Also, I apologize for any car-related details that don't fly.

* * *

"You've got one sexy car, you know that?"

Troy looked up from where he was leaning on the side of his Zircon, lost in thought. He gave her a small smile when her words registered, though. "Lin did a hell of a job with it. Think she's earned her rep and then some."

V walked up to the hood with her hands folded behind her head, eying it curiously. "Never did see what she added..."

"And you want me to give you the guided tour?"

_The backseat does look pretty comfortable._ She bit her tongue and tried not to wince. "She's your baby. If I wanted super technical specs I'd bug Lin, not you. The express one wouldn't hurt, though."

"Eh, why not?" He tried to be casual about it, but there was a hint of interest there that told her he was almost happy to go over it. He crushed his cigarette under his shoe and motioned for her to come closer.

The hood went up and he pointed to each mod as he went over it carefully, trying to explain each new addition as Lin had. She knew he talked with his hands a bunch, but she followed every motion closely as he traced the lines and pointed out the fixes.

Cars had never been her thing. She knew the basics, could change a flat, the oil, etc. Basic shit. Lin had sparked the idea of learning more, but it'd been impossible to get a word out with the way her jaw locked up around her. Maybe this was a safe alternative. Troy was the safe alternative.

_Safe, sure._ There was nothing safe about the way she kept on trying to imagine how those same hands would feel on her.

That fucking race. It'd done a real number on her in ways he'd never know.

"You see this right here?" He pointed out something further inside the hood and she had no choice but to lean forward to find it. "That's the good stuff. You hit the button and it's like a shock to the system. Fucking kicks."

Her shoulder brushed against his. "It did kick. Hard. Didn't kick as hard as the others did, but I'm okay with that. Not ending the race as a flaming wreck was the goal after all."

"With you behind the wheel?" She flicked him in the arm. "Nah, I'm messing with you. You got us through in one piece, so I can't complain about that. What did you think of the handling?"

"Smoother than I expected, but I was trying to sling it around every corner. It wasn't going to cooperate every time."

"Still can't tell if the real winner was the paint or the brakes."

"Fuck you, man," she said with no venom whatsoever. "You want a prize too? I'm sure half the racers were wondering what I was dragging you around for."

"Moral support? I do know more than a few one-liners."

"Oh? And here I was stuck between eye candy and chaperone."

The first earned her an interesting expression. The second, a laugh. "Huge difference between those two. Don't think they had time to mix those up."

"Just because I was the one wearing the skirt? I could've made an emergency stop to Branded, you know." Her mouth was running again. Running and flirting.

"You're the one with the legs. Don't think I would've helped you there."

...And so was his apparently. She almost tripped on her response. "Depends on who you'd ask. Different strokes for different folks."

His eyes glanced over her briefly and she wished she'd gone for the skirt again. "Point taken. So, what do you think?"

She thought it was pretty sweet. She also thought it'd be pretty sweet if she could put her hands on the hood while he slid her shorts down her hips. He could stand behind her and slip one or two fingers inside-

"Hot." Slamming the brakes on that thought was damn near essential. "Fucking crazy, actually. The amount of attention Lin gave this is kind of illegal. I almost feel jealous."

Troy seemed amused by her word choice. "Kind of the point. Those kids didn't have a clue who they were fucking around with. You're hell on wheels, V."

She was definitely blushing, but had no idea who or what to blame. "Is that a compliment?"

"If you want it," he replied, grinning.

_Oh, Jesus._ There was no way in hell she could look at him now.

She walked around towards the back as her mouth went dry and counted to ten. Fifteen. He followed her when she got to forty and leaned an arm on the side of the car. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, her hands on her hips. "Just wondering if there was anything else I could've done. Curious, you know?"

"Flipped the car?" V turned back and gave him the finger, but he brushed if off like it was nothing. "You did good. Nothing else to really think about."

"Not here at least." He raised an eyebrow. "Don't mind me. Just mumbling about nothing."

"Sure," Troy replied, not believing a thing.

He walked back to the front and closed the hood, taking a cigarette out shortly after. He held one out to her as well and she gladly took it, bumping his arm with hers as he helped her light it.

Giving it a moment, she tried to blow a ring. It was a hell of a lot better than her first attempt, and she waited for him to appraise it.

Instead he blew one himself. It hit hers and she sharply inhaled, coughing on the smoke.

"Shit, you okay?"

He put a hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it off so she could turn away. "God, you owe me a lung."

"I'll add it to the list, just don't actually cough one up."

Now there was a hand on her back. Dammit. "I'm surrounded by assholes, I swear."


	9. Chapter 9

Jumping way ahead to between SR2 and 3 again!

* * *

"Urrgh." V buried her face in the pillow, and squeezed her eyes shut.

She felt like crap due to a combination of late hours and one beer too many, and just wanted to cocoon herself in the covers until the rest of the day had passed. Once her eyes were open, however, it was usually impossible for her to go back to sleep.

She turned her head and stared blankly at the wall as her eyes adjusted, dimly registering something different.

This wasn't her room. Her eyes widened as she recognized the sparsely decorated surroundings, then narrowed as she went over last night's events.

There was the usual public relations crap, Pierce's new set of prototypes, an extended argument about backstory details for the Saints movie, and...

"You awake over there?"

V rolled onto her back and yawned, glancing over at Johnny. "Mostly. You seriously let me sleep in here?"

He rubbed his eyes and V noticed he seemed about as wiped as she was. "You weren't snoring like a fucking chainsaw so I didn't move you. Should've kicked you out halfway through the roundhouse kick demo, though."

_Bad martial arts movie night. Riiiight. _"I know kung fu, man. Can't let myself get rusty."

It was strange seeing him without his glasses. When he grinned it went right to his eyes and she had to stare. He chuckled. "See something you like?"

He also didn't appear to be wearing much of anything at all either. She waited for the awkward feeling to kick in, but it didn't. "Maybe. There are benefits to working with a bunch of ridiculously attractive people."

"Well don't let me stop you then," Johnny replied, getting up out of bed. "Don't you have that photo shoot or whatever to get ready for?"

"Ah, shit," she muttered, tearing her attention away from him to check the clock. Any minute now and Pierce was going to be busting her door down to get her ready to go. "Pierce is going to have a fit. He might already be."

She sat up and put her feet on the floor, blinking a few more times to jumpstart something in her brain. Untwisting her shirt, she stood up and grabbed her boots just as Gat disappeared into his bathroom. The door wasn't closed all the way, and she briefly considered peeking before he opened it again.

Yeah, she could only see part of him, but he definitely wasn't wearing much at all. "See you downstairs in ten?"

V nodded stiffly. "Yeah. Ten. Okay." He gave her a half-smile and closed the door this time. "Bastard."

Sure enough, Pierce was pounding on her bedroom door when she showed up, going on and on about deadlines and sponsors. Oh, and the damn energy drink. That was one pet project of his that he never failed to push.

"Boss? I know you're in there! The shoot's in a little over an hour. How else are we going to market Saints Flow without photos of actual Saints promoting it? Seriously! Open up!"

"It's open, man. Relax," she said, nudging him to the side to get in. "You are way too awake right now."

"Got to be if you want be at the top, boss. Where were you?"

She started stripping off her clothes and Pierce turned his back as he usually did. "Doesn't matter. Just please tell me I won't have to empty a can of the stuff onto me during the shoot again. That got old the first time around we tried that. I think Shaundi also threatened to shank the photographer."

"New guy and new direction. Should be a lot less messy all around this time."

"Hallelujah! I still have no idea what you cram in there. It's some pretty potent shit."

She went into the bathroom and Pierce continued to talk through the door as she started the shower. Small things like noise and doors rarely stopped him once he was on a roll. "Secret formula, boss! Still trying to see if we can get it unbanned in Australia!"

"Good luck with that! I'm wondering how you managed to get it approved here. Slide some money under the table?"

He was quiet for a moment while she ran shampoo through her hair. "No, you just have to talk to the right people."

"Right. You'd better keep Lee on speed-dial."

By the time she was done Shaundi was waiting in her room too, and she watched the two shove a coat back and forth between them as she smoothed her bangs down. As much as she liked the vintage updo, it was difficult as hell to mess with.

"What's up with you two?"

"Pierce wants us to wear matching jackets. To show 'solidarity'." It had a sparkle to it and V tried not to cringe.

"Hey, it'd help band people together for the product! Give it that extra dose of-"

"Nope. Not happening."

Pierce's face fell, and V finished dragging on the rest of her clothes while Shaundi yanked the sequined coat away from him and wadded it into a ball. "See? Told you so."

"It'd only be for one shoot!"

"Still one shoot too many," V said, tieing up her boots. "Let's stick to what we have, Pierce. Some hint of purple and fleur-de-lis everywhere. We're not fucking pop stars."

"Could've been if you'd signed the contract."

She sighed and zipped up her leather jacket. "Just give it up, man. Let it go. Work on that demo tape you keep on bringing up."

"I am," he said proudly as the three made their way downstairs. "Only need two more songs and then I can start throwing it out there. Don't know if the world's ready yet, but I sure as hell am."

"Oh, yeah," Shaundi said, rolling her eyes. "Don't know if the it's ready yet either."

"Well, the world might have to wait, but I know what we're listening to on the way over there."

Shaundi groaned and V tried not to grin. "Need a back up singer?"

"Always looking for volunteers, boss." Pierce replied with a wink. "Just let me know which part you want to carry, because I'm never putting you on a bass bit ever again."

"Way to kill the fun, Pierce."

Gat was waiting for them at the bottom and stopped tossing his knife long enough to greet them. "Yo. You're all as slow as fucking molasses. Done doing each other's hair?"

"Tough talk for a guy who just has to worry about slicking his hair back every morning," V said, walking right on by to the elevator. "I call shotgun."

Johnny caught up without much of an issue. "Whoa, you aren't driving? The hell's up with that?"

"Still hungover, and still waking up. I'm feeling generous."

"Not it," Shaundi said, shaking her head.

Pierce's hand was about to go up, but Gat spoke up first. "Eh, I've got it."

"You sure?" V asked, raising an eyebrow. "You were putting back twice as much stuff as me last night."

"I'm offering, aren't I? Not my fault you're a fucking lightweight."

Shaundi and Pierce exchanged a look and V made sure to glare at all of them. "Just get your ass behind the wheel. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can call this done."

* * *

Forty minutes into make up, V knew this was not going to be an easy process. Each one of them had their own mini setup to get photos done for, so once Pierce and Shaundi had been given the go ahead, the torch had been passed to her.

Something dark had been smeared on her lips, and she was sure that the amount of smoky eyeshadow on her lids would make a goth kid happy, but it was at least in a shade she favored. The purple and red dress wasn't so bad either, but she did miss her boots.

The cigarette in her hand made it all worthwhile, however. It was supposed to be a prop for her to pose with as she lounged on the small leather couch, but she kept on sneaking drags of it when the camera wasn't flashing. It was the first one she'd had in weeks, and it was glorious. Glorious and completely against the ban she was supposed to be on.

Johnny waited just to the left of the photographer, his arms crossed. The minute that the pictures stopped he'd be on it, throwing it away like he'd done all the others. V acknowledged this, but still let each moment with the cigarette last a bit longer and longer. They had to replace it twice during the first roll of film and Gat frowned a little more with each time.

When the photographer paused to change out the roll, he came over as predicted. She gave him a coy look as he eyed the offending object. "Something wrong?"

"I think you know what's wrong."

She wanted him to take it. She knew he would eventually. "Just playing my part. It's not like they handed me a can of Saints Flow to mess around with."

"Oh? I could just head on back and make a suggestion. Leave a little tip."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Just try me, boss," he taunted, lowering his voice. "You know I would."

"Mr. Gat?" The director was talking to the photographer, and both appeared to be in agreement. "Could you join your boss for a few photos?"

V snickered as Johnny swore under his breath. The distraction had worked. "Looks like someone got a little too close."

"Bite me." He turned to the two by the camera, pissed. "If I do this shit, that's it. Nothing else."

They nodded fast and V suspected it was because they weren't up to visiting the hospital today. Satisfied, but not pleased at all, Johnny took a seat on the couch as V scooted over to give him room.

"So, what'll it be?" she asked. "Awkward as hell, or awkward as fuck?"

"Just get over here," he said, jerking his head to the side.

Following his prompting, she half-sat on his lap and draped her arm around his neck. He adjusted her weight, and she tried not to chew on her lip when she felt his hand on her thigh. "Comfortable?"

"Almost." Her cigarette left her mouth and she swore loudly when he held it out of reach. "You made the deal, V."

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to regret it. Some days I hate you."

He took a longer drag than any of hers and grinned, squeezing her thigh while he was at it. "Love you too, boss."


	10. Chapter 10

So, SR2. Let's take a tiny stab at that. Right at the start, or close to it.

* * *

This was her. This was her and yet not her.

When V looked down at her hands she knew they were hers, but the arms and body they were connected to were different. Different enough to make it wrong. Her face had harder lines to it, her auburn hair was cut short and kept brushing against her chin, and she felt like a stranger.

A stranger who was one and yet was not, if it made any sense. She desperately wanted it to make sense.

The brief glimpse she got of herself in the prison made her flinch, and later when she was changing into actual clothes at Sloppy Seconds she had to take a minute to study herself.

This was her. This was who she was now, and as she sped out to the courtroom to get Gat, it was all she needed to know. For now, at least.

The only thing that had registered from the clip at Tee'N'Ay was that Gat was minutes away from heading to Death Row, and as she stomped into the courthouse she was hellbent on preventing that. He was her friend and her link. One of the only she had left, if the disconnected phone numbers of the others were any indication, and she wasn't going to lose it.

"Don't fucking move!" she snarled when she broke into the actual chamber. The judge cowered from her position behind the bench, and the cop dropped their weapon to the floor as V yanked the keys away from them. The pistol-whipping afterwards was probably a bit overboard, but right now that didn't matter.

She chucked the keys towards Johnny, her gun still on the officer and judge, and barely noticed the way he was looking at her. "Shit. You know how to make an entrance. Enjoy the nap?"

"Fuck no. This place was ugly before, and now it's just godawful."

He took the cuffs off and grabbed the extra gun she offered him. While he checked to see if it was loaded, V checked him over and found herself dealing with the same strange disconnect all over again. He was Johnny, but not Johnny. Older, with a sharper edge to him. Not even his bleached hair stood up to the test of time, and for a second she actually missed it.

"You ready?" he asked, his voice low.

She tried to smile, but couldn't. "Now I am."

They tore the rest of the place apart getting to the exit. The violence simmering under Johnny's so-called calm burst loose, and she could almost feel how satisfied he was in taking the police down. Hers wasn't as unchecked, but it was there, confused and dying for an outlet. They stole the first car they could get their hands on in the parking lot, and she launched it onto the road, keeping an eye out for any sign of the police.

Sure enough, flashing lights appeared and she threw the car down one of her old side roads. Johnny used this to their advantage as he aimed back at the Five-O determined to hunt them down, and scored a lucky hit on the driver. He cheered as V laughed, and the two sped off until everything seemed to relax back into the unsteady state she'd been left with before.

Johnny loosened the tie around his neck and sat back in the passenger seat. "Oh, that was fucking nice. Almost like a holiday."

"I'm never going on vacation with you then, because that was a fucking nightmare. Death Row? What the hell happened?" V asked, tense all over.

He gave her a look. "Are you for real?"

"Yeah, I am," she snapped. "I literally just woke up and ran over here to save your ass. Saw something on TV about you getting convicted, and I'm still wondering how the fuck you managed to get caught."

"Trying to kill the chief does that."

"Chief? Holy hell, man. What did the new one do to you?"

He went silent and she wasn't sure if he was going to answer her. "You watched the report on the TV, but you don't know who the chief is?"

"No, I cut out the minute it mentioned you were on your way to being fried. Why?"

"Well you missed the big surprise then. Troy's been busy."

The connection didn't register. "...What?"

"Troy. He's a cop. Was one the whole time. Motherfucker had some brass balls going for chief like he did, but...whoa! Whoa!" He jerked the wheel to the side as the car slid into the other lane, and they barely dodged a large SUV. "Fuck! The hell, V!"

The slow dawning horror on her face left the minute Johnny broke the spell, and she pulled the car back in line. But her hands couldn't stop shaking. "Slipped. ...Just a damn slip."

"Slip. Right." He watched her closely now, and she felt sick. Sick and tired. "We don't need to pull over now, do we?"

"Shut up. We aren't doing shit," V shot, feeling anger cut through the shock. She pushed the unpleasant curl of emotions down and focused on the now. "Where's Dex?"

"Oh, don't get me started on fucking Dex," he replied, his own anger flaring. "He's gone, Troy's turned, and Julius disappeared off of the damn planet. There's nothing left. Saints are dead and gone."

"Except for you."

He inclined his head towards her. "...And you. Still counts for something, right?"

"Enough," she said quietly.

* * *

Johnny went straight to Aisha's. After so long they deserved to see each other, and V wasn't going to keep him any longer than she needed. ...Even if seeing him had given her a sense of stability she'd lacked since she'd stepped off of the speedboat.

This left her alone with Stilwater, and as she stared out towards the skyline, it was strange and familiar all at once. The street where her place had been now had new housing, and the yuppies wandering around regarded her as if she had mange. The dirty looks she threw their way didn't help, but it disgusted her to see her home this sanitized.

The church hit her even harder. She got one look at the memorial from the front and didn't even bother to go inside.

Her car was starting to fall apart around the edges when she parked it in an alley by one of the local Brown Baggers. This was one that she used to hit regularly. Johnny had helped her drink herself into oblivion more than once, and Troy, well... He'd bought her a thing or two on occasion.

A memory of the two of them trading a bottle of something cheap back and forth while watching a movie at her place popped up. She let it play out all the way to the point where he was pulling her shirt up to press a kiss to her stomach, and the fond feeling lingering there stung.

None of it made sense. She didn't want it to make sense.

Dragging herself out of the car, she walked around to the front and pushed her way towards the cheap, but potent section. A bottle of tequila stood out, and she had to stop herself from taking two. The leftover money from her shopping spree at Sloppy Seconds barely covered it, and she made a mental note to thank Carlos later.

When she left, she came to a stop in front of a display filled with televisions. She'd skipped them on her way into the store, but now they held her attention. Half of them talked about the jailbreak, while the other half focused on the botched trial. V stepped close to one of them as it switched to Jane Valderamma - at least she appeared to have changed little - and Troy.

Troy the cop. The chief.

Her head swam as she tried to reconcile the Troy she knew with this one. Chief Bradshaw wore the uniform like it belonged on him, and the moustache he was sporting now only added to the image. His rigid posture made it seem like he was incapable of relaxing, and V numbly watched as the interview continued.

"_...What does this mean after all of this time? Are the Saints on their way back?"_ Jane asked, holding her microphone out to him.

"_I think it's a bit early to jump to any conclusions, Jane," _Troy replied in a clipped tone. _"We've got our best men looking into this, but right now it's a situation that can still be managed."_

"_Even if two of the Saints' top lieutenants are now on the loose?"_

V recognized that expression, the way he'd purse his lips as if he were holding something back. She recognized it well, and it made her dig her nails into her palm. _"It's not a problem. We won't let it become one."_

Her legs carried her away from the rest of it, Jane's voice echoing as she asked the next question. She kept going back to Troy. How he was supposed to be the one to be there, to always tell her exactly how things would go down, to-

She kicked over a trash can and hated herself. Hated how naïve she had to be to give away so much.

Her eyes burned as she went into the alley where her car had been abandoned, and two people were there waiting for her. They wore matching yellow jackets with similar embellishments, and the swords hanging on their backs appeared nothing short of lethal.

"Good call, Chiaki," one of them said, leaning against his motorcycle. "She's not quite the same as in the photos, but it's tough to miss a Saint."

The woman, Chiaki, drew her sword and V bared her teeth at her. "You remove that, you better use it, because I've got no time to deal with either of you ninja school rejects. You feel me?"

She laughed. "No. We've got our own superiors to answer to, and I know they would be overjoyed to have your head presented to them. The formerly retired leader of the Saints dead, and so soon after making her comeback. That would be quite the prize."

V put two bullets into the woman and one into her partner before he was able to yell. They collapsed, and she moved towards the man, crouching low as he choked on the blood in his throat. "Shame about that, then. Think I might want to take your leader's head instead."

She stood up, regarding the two bodies at her feet. She dug through their pockets, removing money and ammo, and took one of their swords. Her reflection peered at her through the sheen of the blade, and she tried to accept the woman staring back at her.

It'd get easier. It had to.


	11. Chapter 11

Something quick that deals with the 'rescue' in SR1. Probably finished this a bit too fast, but I got inspired. :)

* * *

She tugged on the collar of the suit, and it did nothing to loosen the tie around her neck. The disguise she was wearing would do jack and shit if Tanya got a close look at her, but from a distance she passed well enough, even if her driver had been pale as plaster.

All she had to do was drive and keep her mouth shut. That would get her to Johnny.

Tanya got in and gave her first destination, not even waiting for a response before going into her first story. That nearly made her sigh in relief, because she wasn't looking for conversation. She was looking for a set target to just unload on.

_Shame we didn't hold onto the driver, though. Could've been a decent source,_ V mused as she came to a stop in front of the clothing store.

She tapped her fingers on the wheel as the seconds ticked by. The gloves on her hands drove her nuts, however, and she was seconds away from ripping them off when Tanya came back, a new story already spilling out. Aisha was the topic, and all V could do was grip the wheel tight, especially when it inevitably led back to Johnny.

"Had no damn clue. That's what he gets for talking to me like that. He'd better be dead before I walk in the fucking door."

The gun she was carrying was for Green, not her, but it was getting real difficult not to set aside an extra bullet.

She wasn't going to make any mistakes here, though. Not after Lin. Not after the damn ambush, and the way she crumpled when he needed her-

Cutting that thought off, she continued on to Friendly Fire almost on autopilot. Tanya hopped out, going on about gift wrap, and V had to keep from grinding her teeth together. Her phone started vibrating right when she was coming back, and she dug it out fast.

_Julius. Shit._

She put it next to her ear without saying a word.

"_Playa, we've got a problem. Somehow word didn't get back to Troy's crew about our plan. They're heading your way with every intent to kill Tanya. She dies now, we lose Johnny. You need to lose them without firing off a single shot, because they're our boys. We don't kill our own, you feel me?"_

He hung up without expecting an answer and she threw it down into the passenger seat.

"Hey, you think On Thin Ice is still doing that sale right now? I think we can fit in one more stop. It's just gas-"

Something purple flashed in the rearview mirror, and V hit the gas. Tanya squealed in the backseat as they flew forward, but recovered once she saw exactly what they were evading.

"The Saints! Lose them!"

She bit her tongue and cursed Troy six ways to Sunday for deciding to slip now. She would not lose Johnny due to this. No, not like this.

A car rear-ended them and she swung the massive car in a half-crescent that left even her impressed. Tanya was screaming until her face was blue, doing everything from threatening to fire her, to complaining about the chipped nail she'd snagged on one of the seats. V got through the experience through a mental string of expletives directed at the Vice Kings, Tanya, Troy's crew, and Troy himself. The more creative ones she'd test on him later, but that was later. With Johnny back at the church and Green six feet under.

"Keep your eyes on the fucking road!"

The horn of a semi blared, and V spun the wheel as fast as her gloved hands were able. It caught on the leather and she didn't think she was quick enough. Not with the boat she was trying to maneuver. The semi cut right and she snapped the car out wide, nearly losing the end of it as they drifted by.

The Saints on the other side weren't as lucky. She didn't let herself breathe until the limo settled enough to zip ahead, and once she was was certain that no more purple was after her, she let out a long shuddering breath.

Tanya relaxed as well and let out a small laugh. "That was close. You've earned your tip today, Owen."

_Oh, fuck you,_ V muttered to herself as she kept the car moving forward.

Green's penthouse wasn't too far from where they were, but she needed to get there before Troy's group caught up again. Or even worse, Tanya wised up to who exactly was driving. That would be a short and not so sweet conversation.

The large building came up, the glass windows glinting in the sun, and her hand went to where her gun was hidden. The extra SMG under the passenger seat was her only back up. Tanya gave what passed for thanks, and V waited until she was in the door before digging the other gun up.

With Gat inside, Green had to have extra men on him. She had only a couple of extra clips and a knife. What she needed to do was to empty as much ammunition into those fuckers as possible and then scramble for cover. Once they were done she could grab their gear, go back on the offensive, and wipe the rest out.

It sounded like a reasonable plan. As she slipped the SMG under her coat and strode inside she believed it was. That stuck with her as she gave Tanya one of the hardest punches she could deliver, but it all fell apart the minute she stepped into the next room and let loose the first shot.

Her arm might have been steady, but the spray of bullets didn't seem to hit anything as V threw herself to the side. Too much yellow had flooded her vision, and when she ducked around again, she didn't bother aiming. Just yelled and tried to hit anything that moved.

She chucked her chauffeur's hat at the next guy that came forward, and it smacked him full on in the face. It gave her enough time to whip her pistol out to gun down the jersey swinging a bat at her, before putting two in the other still left on the ground.

That's when the shotgun went off, and she dropped to the floor with milliseconds to spare. The edge of the table she ducked around exploded, and she fired at the guy's knees as she refused to stand still. One of them went out and she scrambled forward on her hands and knees to take the abandoned shotgun.

V grabbed her discarded hat, tossing it onto her head at a jaunty angle, and gulped down air as her nerves sang. This could work. She could do this.

A yell came from her side as she stood up, and she caught a glimpse of Johnny's overturned chair. He was bloody and bruised, but nowhere near ready to call it quits. The yelling had been coming from him, and he started when she tried to step closer.

"Get Green! I'm fucking fine! Don't let him-"

A shot went off and it grazed her shoulder, throwing her to the floor. The pain pierced, then burned as she crawled off to the other room, leaving Green with every advantage. He took another shot, missing her, but keeping her running. He laughed as she pressed a hand to her bleeding arm, and her eyes darted around as they searched for a gun. Any gun.

The shotgun had been left by Gat, and she weighed her options as she hid behind the couch. Nearby, she heard Johnny talk to Green. Taunt him.

He was doing it again. Saving her ass when she should've been damn well able to cover it herself.

The knife slid out of the place where it was hidden in her boot, and she slowly peeked over the barrier as she heard Green respond. He leaned over Gat, loomed over him, his gun not even a foot from his head.

Gat laughed once, low and menacing, then spat blood in Green's direction.

He reloaded his gun and raised it just as V took a running leap at his back. The knife flashed as she stabbed Green once, then twice, fury keeping her on him. She felt him fall back, crushing her against the glass, and she stabbed him again. Then again. Blood hit her arm, her face, and she saw nothing but red.

The air left her lungs as Green smashed her against the wall one more time, and his legs buckled. Her gloved hands slipped on his shirt and she let go, falling to the floor as he collapsed to the side, twitching every few seconds or so.

She watched him closely, breathing in and out. When he stopped moving, she let herself scrub a hand across her face to wipe off some of the blood. It stained the black leather, and she tore them off.

Groping at the wall, she managed to get up and wobble over to Johnny's side. She opened her mouth to say something cheesy, heroic even, but couldn't force the words out. She eventually cracked a smile. "Hey. Sorry to take so long."

He stared at her like he'd never seen her before in his life. Then he chuckled. "Fucking A. You might be a Saint after all."


	12. Chapter 12

Takes place in SR1 just as the Vice Kings missions finish up! Fairly late in the overall game timeline too. Kind of silly on the edges, but not too silly?

* * *

"King's gone?"

"He's gone, playa. Left just this morning," Julius told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know if this could've been done with anyone else backing Johnny up. Good work."

"It was your call, boss," V said, a stupid smile threatening to overtake her face. "It's my job to make it happen."

Julius looked her over as if he were weighing her up. He hadn't done so since the day of the canonization. "And you did. You've come a long way from the start. Humble beginnings with next to nothing."

"Had to start somewhere. Now the Row's practically ours. It's fucking amazing."

"That's right, playa. It is, isn't it?" There was another question there, but he hid it before V could even think about asking. "It's just the Carnales now. One last obstacle. Don't handle them lightly. They've known power. It's not easy to give up."

V laughed, her grin now out in full force. "I think I'm finally starting to understand that. Won't be a problem, boss."

Julius gave her a tentative smile back, but remained distant. "Don't let it become one."

* * *

Dex was waiting for her on the way out, a smile much different from Julius's on his face. "How'd it go?"

"All right? I know the boss is supposed to be serious most of the time, but something about Lopez is still worrying him for some reason. I think he also tried to give me a 'Be wary of power and how it corrupts' speech."

"Seriously? I can't even imagine why he'd throw that at you."

"Eat a dick, Dex," V said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not that bad."

"I know, but he's just watching out for you." he said, glancing back towards the office. "It's what he does. With only the Carnales left it's like we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Don't want to ruin a good thing, right?"

"Right," she conceded. "Anything new on that front?"

"Plenty. I decided to take on a few things on my own time, and found out that Angelo's been making a few calls. It looks like he's getting ready to run. Could have a week at the most considering he's amped up his defenses at his mansion first, but we can't wait long. I'll have something better in a day or two, but when the time comes I want you there."

"Is that a special request?" she asked, feeling playful.

Dex grinned. "Might be. I'll need a driver."

"Now you're just messing with me, because I know I'm too sober to believe that shit."

"I'm being serious, but we'll talk about it more later. Just take it easy for now until you hear from me."

_You, eh?_ She crossed her arms and leaned back on her heels. "Got it. Want me to pass that on to Troy if I see him?"

He thought about it for a second, then shook his head. "Nah, I've got it."

* * *

Once she left the church V had the rest of the day to herself. She figured she'd take some time to rest up before ransacking the Friendly Fire for her future visit to Lopez, so drinks at Tee'N'Ay seemed like a good idea. It was still early, however. Before twelve if she was being specific. Did she really need to damage her liver more by getting a headstart?

No, not really. She already needed to cut down on her pack a day habit, there was no need to throw alcohol into the mix.

A hole in her shirt stared up at her and she realized she should probably go shopping instead. The gray t-shirt had barely stood up to a month in her closet, and she knew she needed other things as well. It was just a matter of dragging her ass out to On the Rag.

With that decided she started to walk home, passing only a few people as she made her way around the church. Troy's car waited nearby, however, and she came to a stop. She hadn't seen him on her way there, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to look for him now.

She heard his voice before she saw him, pacing back and forth in one of the more isolated places littered outside. His cigarette burned away as he traded words with the person on the other end – likely one of his contacts – and there was something interesting about the way he was holding himself. He stood up straighter, tenser. It was strange in the subtlest of ways, but when he noticed her staring at him, he relaxed instantly.

That left her with nothing but a bemused look as she waved at him awkwardly, and he signaled for her to wait a minute longer. She used that time to shake the weird feeling off, and gave him a smile when he finally hung up. "Hey. Where have you been? You missed a lot of shit with King, man."

"That was Dex's and Gat's baby," he said, putting his phone away. "I've been working overtime on getting the Carnales sorted out, so I had to miss the going away party. Sounds like it was a hell of a time."

"It was fucking great. Don't think King felt that way after Tanya took a dive onto his car, but he took it well enough. It wasn't like he'd be able to hold onto it anyway. Anything new on Lopez?"

"He's been holed up in his mansion for the last week. I would think he'd try to get some protection out of the Colombians, but we took out the only brother that actually had a working relationship with them. He's probably seeing how much longer he can sit in one spot before someone comes calling."

"That's kind of what Dex was saying."

"He was?"

Troy raised an eyebrow and V almost held her tongue. Dex had told her not to bother, but there was no real reason to with the two of them right there. "Yeah. He says that Angelo's waiting for the right time to run, and basically wants me ready until then."

"The hell does he want you there for?"

"My flawless driving skills. No one else tears it like me, babe," she said with mock seriousness. The wink that followed didn't help any.

Troy held the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "Great. Just have to twiddle our thumbs until Dex feels the time is right then?"

"I guess. You'd have to talk to him about that, because he didn't give me much more than what I told you. He plays things way too close to his vest. It's enough to drive anyone nuts."

He let the corner of his mouth quirk up. "That's Dex for you."

"No wonder you two can barely stand in the same room some days. It's a shame, really."

"Why?"

"It's just amusing. Both of you are so fucking hardheaded and set on how you tackle certain things. Half the time I feel like I'm playing middleman. The other half?" V let her eyes linger on him then glanced away. "Well, I'm trying pretty damn hard not to be an open book."

Troy exhaled a long stream of smoke and gave her a knowing look. "Not easy, is it?"

"No, but I don't think I'm that easy to read. However, there are days where I'm seriously glad that he doesn't have any of that telepathic bullshit. He doesn't need to see any of that." Troy laughed and she felt herself blush a little. "What? If I want to think about you doing…certain things I'd like to have some damn privacy."

"Course you would," he said, looking away. It didn't take long for him to look back at her though, and she had trouble making eye contact. "You need some now?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm just admiring this spot a bit. Good place to hide in case, you know…"

"Anyone's watching?"

"Yeah. Don't think anyone could see us from here, though. I'm wondering if my odds are good."

He took another drag, then crushed the cigarette under his heel. "At what?"

"Getting caught," she said, wetting her lips. "It'd be worth it, though."

He stepped closer and she tilted her chin up, anticipating something. Anything. The stone wall met her back and Troy covered her mouth with his, making the kiss simple and slow. Though they didn't have an audience in this hidden corner, they weren't exactly alone. Saints were everywhere, and all they had to do was wander down a bit further to find them curled against the church's side. It almost thrilled her.

When he pulled back, she had to breathe for a second. Make sure her knees didn't buckle. "You're being brave."

"Kinda. Wouldn't mind doing that again though. Want me to?"

"Shit, what do you think?" Her heart definitely wasn't going to stop pounding. "Not too sure about…this, however," V said, gesturing towards their surroundings. "Want to run back to my place real quick? Test my odds more?"

"There's also an old store down the street. Been out of business for months now," he suggested, his eyes flicking between her mouth and her shirt.

"And you want to break in?" She whistled and couldn't hide her wicked grin. "Sneaky. I think I like that."

He shrugged, but the smile tugging at his lips told her otherwise. "Thought you might."

"Lead the way, then."

It was a short walk down from the church, and she twirled bits of her hair around her finger as they played at being casual. He pried one of the boards off of the side entrance of the closed down building so she could get inside, and she ducked around the rest of the barrier only to be met by tables and shelves.

Spinning around on one boot to face him, she held back a nervous giggle as she took in everything around her. He had called it old, but the place wasn't even that worn down. The windows were fairly intact, and the only evidence of entry was the one loose board he'd removed.

She let him follow her as she backed further into the store, only stopping when the wall told her to. His calm approach wasn't surprising, but he didn't bother to hide the promise in his eyes.

"Cozy, eh?" Troy said, kicking at an old crate. "Real luxury accommodations."

"Yeah, I'm feeling it. You take all the girls here, or just me?" she teased.

"…Not all of them."

He was only a few steps away, and she refused to be the first to break. "Oh? Way to make a girl feel special then. I was hoping for some candles, music, the works."

"What? You're not a fan of the mood lighting already here?" He reached out to cup her chin and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "The easy way this place just tells you it's a dump?"

She laughed. "I haven't run yet, have I? That's true romance for you."

Her tongue darted out to lick his thumb and she knew she had him. There was a short intake of breath, and he moved forward, pressing a sloppy kiss to the edge of her mouth. Her arms looped around his neck, and he kissed her again, deepening it quickly.

There was nothing slow to this like before. His hands yanked her shirt up enough to expose her bra, then ran under it, unhooking it in the back. The low whine that left her mouth made her blush as he lowered his head to her breasts, and she tugged at his hair as his tongue lingered where his fingers had previously. When his lips closed over a nipple she tried not to pull.

"Tease," she gasped, getting him back up to her level, or close to it. His height gave him a few inches over her, just enough to have her look up at him.

He kissed her hard, and she could feel his grin. "You're the one hiding the purple. Stands the hell out."

The bra she wore _was_ an obnoxious shade, but she bit back her response when his hand slid lower, moving between her legs. The sweet pressure was tough to feel through the denim, but it translated well enough. "Shut up. I don't wear enough as it is. …Do you think these tables would hold me?"

Troy glanced back at the room and shook his head. "They're covered in at least four layers of dust, V."

"But they're stable, right?"

"Hey, it's bad enough I'm fooling around with you here. I'm not going to immortalize it by sending you to the goddamn hospital when it breaks."

"Holy hell, Troy. I want to fuck you. We don't have a lot of surfaces to choose from, so I'm not being picky." He pushed his leg between hers and she dug her nails into his shoulders. "The wall's fucking solid. Does that work?" she breathed.

"Nope. Can't do that either."

"Why? Chafing?"

He snorted and shook his head. "No condoms."

"…You serious?" V groaned and let her head fall back. "I could've sworn you'd have at least one on you."

"Used them all. Must be a hazard of working with you."

She rolled her hips against his almost painfully slow and tried to sound defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You do the smallest thing, and it gets hard to focus after that," he said, trying to match her rhythm. "Fucking impossible."

"You know I don't mind helping you out with that, right?"

He was breathing hard against her neck, and she couldn't resist putting her hand between them to feel him through his jeans. "Course I do."

"But you fill in the blanks if I can't, right?" she asked, pulling him up to gently bite his lip. His leg pressed up against her, and she bit down harder as she tried not to rub herself against him. She lost the fight after the rocking motion began to hit her just right.

"And spend some time jerking off? Yeah. Can't fucking avoid it sometimes," Troy said, sucking on the skin beneath her ear. His teeth grazed her earlobe as well, but he didn't bite her. It was something he'd always tease at, but never do.

"Damn. Now I'm curious. Any hints? Tips?" she asked, as he started messing with the button on her bermudas. Her voice was nowhere near steady.

Neither was his. "Your mouth's usually an easy guess. The desk's also a fun trip. The one in the office."

"Johnny's desk? You've seriously thought about…?" V's face flushed at the clear image of him entering her while she was perched on the edge, and she wanted it. She wanted it bad. "Oh, fuck me."

"That was the idea. Wouldn't be a bad place to lick you either, eh?" His hand slipped past her underwear and he swallowed. "Guess not. Shit."

"You asshole. You're so coming over later."

"Is that an order?"

"Yes," she moaned, this close to just covering his hand with hers so he'd finger her already. "Fucking tease."

That drew a chuckle from him, and he kissed her like he did the first time outside, slow and deep. She made a frustrated noise and went right for his belt. It was half off of him when something began ringing.

The sharp default tone was his. He froze, and V tried to understand the shift in his expression.

"You going to get that?"

He hesitated, then pulled his phone out to check the number. If anything, he seemed to withdraw more. "…Yeah. Can't skip this one."

"Well, shit. Now you're definitely coming over tonight," she said, giving him one last kiss before reluctantly stepping away from him. Her body ached, but this had to go on ice for now. "Promise?"

Troy nodded, not quite meeting her eyes.

She motioned for him to call her and quickly left after fixing her clothes up, her smile slipping as she made her way towards the side entrance. His voice was low as she stood out of sight, but she couldn't bring herself to listen in. Not with the way it seemed to carry in the small space. She replaced the board after climbing out, and tried not to look back.

* * *

"King's out. The airplane ticket checked out, and he's far enough away that he's someone else's problem now. The Carnales might be done by the end of the week at this rate, depending on whether or not the raid Dex's planning goes down as planned. He says Lopez might run, so it's either now or never."

"_Those details are going in your next update?" _Monroe asked.

"Yeah, they'll be there. I just need some extra time to sort through it. Organize it and all that shit."

"_I wouldn't be making this call otherwise. You're taking some liberties here that we can't afford to take right now. The election's coming up and gang leaders are dropping left and right. All the Saints have to do is turn their head and-"_

"They could start aiming higher. I'm aware of that."

"_Then start acting like it. Slip too far, son, and I'm going to have to make some difficult choices. Understand?"_

Troy's grip on the phone tightened. "…Yeah, I understand."

_"Good. We'll be in touch."_

He hung up. Troy watched the screen dim, and shoved the phone back into his pocket without another word.


	13. Chapter 13

SR1! Just something light and fun once the Rollerz missions have wrapped up.

* * *

"Okay, so it goes like this," Johnny said, lining up a set of shots on the table behind them. "We've got a place full of useless shit. Pots, vases, statues, pianos. We don't need it, Price sure as hell doesn't need it, so we're giving it a proper send off. So, here's the plan. You take a shot, then signal to this motherfucker," he pointed towards Luis, "and he'll pick something special out for you. Fine china, even. He'll throw it, and your job is to knock it out of the fucking sky before it touches the ground."

"What happens after that?" V asked, checking the pile of junk accumulating next to them.

"Rinse and repeat. The pile's not getting any smaller."

"You really want to get me smashed, don't you?"

Gat's grin both challenged her and teased her. "I want to see if you can handle yourself. Can you?"

Her eyes narrowed. She didn't even check to see what the shot was before downing it, and it burned her throat. "It's on," she coughed. "Luis, go for it!"

He picked out a decently sized vase, and V held her gun as steady as possible. It flew, and she shot it solidly in its center of mass. The Saints on the edges of the room cheered, and she stood tall.

Gat shrugged. "Beginner's luck. Can't hit that, can't hit shit."

He downed his shot without flinching and raised his chin. Luis caught the sign and threw up the next target, some gold-trimmed disaster. It exploded, and V knew this was going to be a mistake. A mistake that would be fun as hell, but a mistake regardless.

Everything started to blend into a blissful routine of shot, shoot, shot, shoot, after that and the game became ten times more amusing due to it. She began to even cheer him on and maybe it was a trick of the mind, but he did give his shots a bit more of a flourish with an audience. The wink he gave before destroying the porcelain bust of Sharpe was purely silly, however, and she gave him a slow clap in response.

Still, she was able to keep up, and there was something pretty satisfying about that.

"Not bad. Let's change this up a bit." Johnny walked over to the wall and grabbed the spear anchored to it, giving it a good pull.

It creaked, then popped off, and V held a hand to her mouth. "Are you serious?"

He held it high, testing its balance. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Her good judgment should've kicked in at that moment. It didn't. "Careful. If you actually hit something I might be impressed."

"Can't have that now, can we?"

He cracked his neck and held the spear up in a mock stance used in most movies. V laughed, and gestured towards Luis to pick something out. He scratched his chin and then made a suggestion. "Hey, why don't you aim for one of those paintings?"

Johnny gave it some thought. "I think you might be onto something."

They picked out one across the room, and Johnny swayed a bit as he put down two shots instead of the required one. "Double or nothing," he stated, grinning back at her.

His balance wasn't up to his usual standard as he pulled the spear back, and the minute it left his hand he stumbled off to the side, nearly crashing into her. "Whoa there, man. Thought you could handle this shit better than that."

Both of her hands rested on his back to keep him from pinning her against the table, and he chuckled. "Just taking a moment. You ain't looking so hot yourself."

"Oh?" She thought about pushing him forward, but didn't muster up the force. "I'm shooting like a champ. You're the one failing at hitting basic targets."

The spear was wedged into the wall just to the right of Sharpe's face. "I hit the wall, didn't I?"

"I think you need to try again," V said, leaning up on her toes to speak over his shoulder.

A few other Saints handed him the spear this time, eager to see him take another crack at it, and he put down another couple of shots. The bottle went her way after that, and she didn't even measure the amount that went down. The game's parameters didn't mean shit now. She just wanted to see if he could make it.

The same pose was made and the spear went even wilder. A few people yelled as she tried to keep him up, but he'd apparently given up on standing around the same time her knees had given up on holding her. So when she landed on her ass, she had the benefit of Johnny's weight on her and it smarted.

She swore as she tried to sit back up, and Johnny whooped. "Did I get it?"

Luis raised an eyebrow. "Got something."

"You're like a motherfucking brick," she groaned, trying to push him up again, but he didn't want to budge. If anything he almost leaned back more, and she wanted a damn forklift. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"Eh, bite me. Not like you were able to hit shit."

She rolled her eyes, but shook her head to try and get rid of the weird floating sensation hanging onto her. If anything it hit her harder after that, and she let herself lie down on the carpet. "Why did I do this again?"

"Wanted to beat me at something," he mumbled.

"Oh. I would pick something this stupid."


	14. Chapter 14

SR2. Because I just had to bring down the mood from the previous chapter, right? (No, I know I didn't)

* * *

It was caked under her nails, and V kept on picking at it as she sat on the bed. The blood wasn't hers, but it stuck to her as if it should've been.

The hotel room by the hospital had been expensive. Much more expensive than she would've anticipated otherwise, but when you stumble in covered in blood, some compromises have to be made somewhere.

She would've emptied her wallet out on the spot. Of course, she also would've just shot the man if he'd tried to gouge the price any higher, but she wanted to be there. If she couldn't sit in the room with Johnny and wait, she'd at least be close enough to make it count.

Her phone had been going off all night. Pierce had tried to call her back after she'd cut him off, and Carlos had tried her three or four times before giving up. Shaundi had also tried, but she couldn't do it right now.

It went off again when she was leaning against the window. The street below was still busy, and she dully realized she had no idea what time it actually was. Didn't know and didn't care.

Guilt picked at her for a moment as she wandered over to where she'd left her phone last. If it was Carlos again she'd consider picking up.

It wasn't. "Hello?"

"_Hey. That answers my first question."_

He had her number. She did all but tell Troy she'd hadn't changed hers, but that didn't keep her from tensing all over. "What?" she snapped.

"_As to whether or not you're in the hospital, but-"_ he paused, and took in a deep breath. _"How is he?"_

"Drawing some conclusions there?"

"_I'm at the house of a woman who's been thought to be dead for years. Have to draw some." _

"He's not dead," she ground out, her jaw clenched tight enough to hurt.

She recalled how Johnny looked at her, and then through her, his blood covering her as he called her by Aisha's name. She'd responded to it, telling him exactly what he wanted to hear. Every last word. That fact alone made her question if she'd be able to look him in the eye again.

"_Do you want to talk about it?"_

She could hear it. He could hide it as well as he'd liked, but she knew what concern sounded like coming from him. She hung up and threw the phone across the room, her arms curling around her. Dried blood still streaked down them, some of it Ronin, some of it Johnny's. None of it was hers.

Her hands ran through her hair, and she let out a shaky breath.

She went right back to the phone and dialed Troy back. It rang twice, and V didn't let him get a word in. "I want that fucker dead."

"_...Okay, I get that."_

"No, you don't. What do you need? A description? His license plate? Some other bullshit? He was some giant tattooed motherfucker. Rattled things off in, I don't know, Japanese. Flung a sword around. Any of that work?"

He waited a minute before responding. _"I'd say that's Jyunichi."_

"He's like a general or something?"

"_He answers to Akuji, so yeah. Good enough of a guess. We're looking into it right now. Should give Johnny some time to get back on his feet, but paperwork can only go so far. Even if I had a location-"_

"You wouldn't be able to give it up. More cop bullshit, eh?"

"_-I wouldn't be able to guarantee if it'd be accurate. Ronin have their usual haunts, but they move around. You'd have to tap into their routine. Pay attention."_

"Keep an ear to the ground?"

"_Something like that."_

His voice was almost comforting in her ear. She rubbed her hand over her eyes and stared at the back wall of her hotel room. It was better than the view of the hospital she'd been so desperate for five minutes ago.

Her tongue wet her lips, and she tried to keep her voice from cracking. "She warned us. ...Called out. Johnny was the first inside, but it didn't make a difference. She was gone by the time we were through the door."

"_V-"_

She hung up. The battery was ripped out after that, and she left the phone disassembled on her bed as she paced a hole into the floor. She gave it another ten minutes before she broke into the minibar.


	15. Chapter 15

Card games in SR1 again! Or at least I try to see if I can get them to navigate through them. This is fairly early in the missions, so I apologize if the ordering is starting to get messy. The general chronological order of the stories is in Ch. 1 if any of you would ever like to check!

* * *

The pity beer she had scored off of the bartender was three-quarters of the way empty, and she wished she'd had enough cash to get another. It had been her third time at Tee'N'Ay since Troy had extended the invite weeks ago, and she was doing shittier than ever.

Everything that she had saved for this week's game after grabbing new clothes and ammunition had slipped through her fingers, and she kicked at the chair sitting next to her as the guys said their goodbyes and scattered throughout the club. Dee had tried to slip her a twenty on her way out, but V had shoved it back. She wasn't in dire straights, so she wasn't about to bum money off of her friends, especially after her piss-poor performance in front of them.

Troy pulled out the seat to her right, and she gave him the same gloomy expression she'd been wearing for the past five minutes. "Still feeling it?" he asked.

"I'll be feeling it until tomorrow. There's losing, there's sucking, and then there's the bottom of the fucking barrel. I feel like I've tunneled a good five feet below that."

"Bit harsh there, kid."

"Bad is bad. No point in arguing degrees." He sighed and V put her head on her arms. If she was going to wallow, she was going to wallow. "I'm a lost cause."

"Cut the melodrama, you're fine. In fact, I was wondering if you wanted to get in another game or two."

"Troy, I'm broke," she told him, sitting up. "The only things I can put up for a bet are my clothes, and unless you're looking for a real short game of strip poker, I'm going to be naked before I learn anything useful-"

"I don't give a shit about betting, V," he said, cutting her off fast. "I'm just asking if you want to play. You keep on coming by, so I thought maybe I could give you a tip or two. Keep you from losing fifty to Stu's shitty hands. Or hell, that one that Johnny pulled last week."

The smug smile Gat had given her after she fell for his trick had made her livid. "Just when I'd forgotten about that. Lovely. Sure you even want to waste your time here?"

"You're not bad," he said, shuffling the deck. "You're just spending too much time thinking about your own hand. You've got to watch the others, because even if you do have a winner, there's always a chance that someone else can trump it. Nail that down, know when they're on the ropes, and you'll clean them out every time. Johnny's no different. Doesn't hurt that he also plays like he fights. Brute force can only carry you so far in a game built for the opposite."

She watched him continue to shuffle as he kept his eyes on her instead of the cards, and was curious. Getting the chance to make Johnny pay was pretty tempting as well. "Okay. Maybe I wouldn't mind that. The game's not the same without betting, though."

"Yeah, about that." He put the cards down and checked his cigarette before putting it out. "Could always put up pennies, but there's no real incentive to win pocket change."

"So what were you thinking then?"

He lit a new one and pushed the pack towards her. "Could trade facts. You win, I tell you something. I win, you tell me something. Doesn't have to be important shit, either."

"So, I could totally give you my shoe size and it'd count?"

"It's a fact, so why would I call bullshit?"

She was torn. When she'd joined the Saints they hadn't cared who she was or where she'd come from. There had been no pressure to share anything, so she hadn't bothered to. On the flip side, she knew next to nothing about the people she was working with, and none of them had ever tried to pry.

Troy's attempts here and there hadn't been too bad, but this was an invitation. She could turn him down, and it wouldn't affect anything. If she accepted, he'd be free game as well, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to give that chance up.

She grinned and took the pack. "That is probably the strangest way someone's asked to get to know me better."

"Up for it then?" he asked, exhaling.

V reached over and grabbed the cards once her own cigarette was lit. "Only if you are."

Troy smiled and gestured for her to deal. Her competitive streak kept her confident through the first read of her cards, and when she replaced two, she actually ended the turn feeling pretty good.

Then he put his cards down. She had to bite her tongue to keep from swearing. "You would get the first hand." She dropped the cards and tapped her fingers on the table. "My favorite color's red."

"I hadn't noticed," he replied flatly.

She shrugged, and definitely gave him a coy look. "Hey, you said anything, right?"

"I did." He dealt them out this time, and spared his hand a glance before he shifted his attention to his cigarette. He gave up one card, and she racked her brain as to what it could mean. She was still trying to do so when they showed their hands again, and he kicked her ass.

She groaned. "I went to school."

"High school only, or...?"

"College. Tried it, but it wasn't for me. It helps if what you're there for is what you're interested in."

Her cards went into the discard pile and he threw his in after. "You got distracted."

V felt her jaw clench. "What?"

"This last turn you spent too much time thinking about how I was shifting around. It threw you off."

"I'm only keeping an eye on one other person, so..." Troy quirked his mouth and she aimed her eyes down. "Fuck. I'll work on it."

They began their next turn and she put everything on lockdown. He kept his eyes on his cards, and she did the same, studying them closely. Things looked pretty good on her end again, and she tried to steal a glance at him from under the brim of her hat.

He raised his eyebrows at her and she frowned. Then she put her cards face up on the table.

"Shit," he said, grinning. "Got one." His cards went to the side and he held his cigarette between his fingers as he thought it over. "I've got a couple of siblings."

"Oldest?"

"Nah, older brother, younger sister. Don't really hear much from them anymore, but...they're all right."

V shuffled the cards and nodded. "That's good. Can't exactly phone home about this, eh?"

"That would be a fun call, wouldn't it? Probably give my mother a heart attack while we're at it. How about you? Any brothers or sisters?"

"No, I'm...an only child." It was technically true. Not being related to your siblings did let her have a bit of leeway there. "Probably for the best."

He took a drag and she tried to ignore the way he was looking at her. Before she knew it the next turn went to him, and she puffed away at her cigarette as she mulled it over. "Shit. Um, give me a second."

"Where'd you get your hat from?"

She coughed on the smoke she was inhaling, and held up a hand when he tried to touch her shoulder. The beer she definitely did take when he offered it, and she took a large drink of it when the itching in her throat stopped. "It's from my mother. You're one nosy motherfucker, you know that?"

His hands paused as they flipped through his cards, and she almost missed it. "So I'm told."

"She-" The words wanted to come out. V watched him look up, and she took another sip of the beer before handing it back to him. "I didn't see her often, so it's pretty much all I have. The damn thing should've fallen apart by now, but it's tough. ...Don't know what I'd do without it."

He tapped the stack of cards against the table. "You want to stop?"

"No," she replied, and she meant it. "I've only won once. I've got to get at least one more detail out of you before I throw in the towel."

The empty bottle went to the side as he finished it, and she noticed the almost sedate way he was passing the cards out. She finished her cigarette while she considered the cards sitting in front of her, but he didn't push her to hurry. Instead he handed her another cigarette and lit it while she conveniently forgot about the lighter resting by her elbow. The way she leaned towards him was something she decided to ignore as well.

"I don't like this one," she eventually said, blowing smoke out of the corner of her mouth. "Might just fold."

"You sure?"

She smirked. "Hell no. That's why I'm thinking out loud. It's a nervous habit."

"That's a tell." Troy rubbed his lips as he examined his own cards, and she tried not to glare at him. He held up his cig. "This is one of mine. Sure you've noticed something by now."

"Bits and pieces here and there. It's only one of your defining characteristics."

"Old habit. ...And honestly not the best one to have." He held his cards up and she went for it, sick of staring at their backs. It wasn't much of a contest and she grinned wide. "That's two for you."

"So..."

"So..." he said in return, imitating her.

"Why the Saints?"

"Fuck." He actually looked mildly surprised. "Payback, eh?"

"Kind of. Just curious, you know? Everyone obviously wants to help Julius, but there's always something else to it. You're not Dex, and you're sure as hell not Johnny. Wouldn't even pin you as a banger most days, but that's just due to the way you handle yourself. Dex is the same, to be honest."

Something in him tensed at her comment, but he wasn't mad or irritated. "Not exactly the poster child for urban crime?"

"I'd figure you more for those old smoking ads. It's so fucking tough not to light up around you."

He chuckled and she was glad to see him relax. "Blame me for that, but it goes both ways." Troy tapped the ashes off of his cigarette into their ashtray and shrugged. "You ever see a problem, but wonder if anything's being done about it? People talk, they say that the issue's under control, but you still see the exact same shit going down day after day. People are hurt, drugs are being slung openly on street corners down from schools, and a drive by is just another two second comment on the afternoon news. It's rough, and no one wants to give a shit, or say how much of a problem it really is."

"Are you from the Row?"

"No, but it's still part of Stilwater," he said, meeting her eye. "This is our city. Shouldn't we be working hard to see that all areas are doing fine? That's what Julius told me after his initial pitch about cleaning up the Row. You start there, why stop there?"

"That's...pretty fucking admirable."

He shook his head. "Don't."

"What?" she asked, frowning.

"You're making a big deal of it, and it's not."

"It is."

"We're cleaning up our home. Maybe even trying to be decent human beings while we're at it. Sure, it could be noble, but gunning down bangers and their dealers seven days a week shouldn't qualify."

"Well, doing that saved me, so maybe I might find that worth admiring. Just a little."

V saw him pause, something unfamiliar crossing his face. Then he tilted his head to the side, and she wasn't sure what to think of the look he was aiming at her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pushed her chair back to get up. "Good game. Catch you tomorrow?"

Her feet carried her past him, and she just kept on walking.


	16. Chapter 16

So there was a prompt that was calling me over at the SR kmeme, and it's got to have a home. This is closer to SR3 in terms of the timeline, and involves a visit to the police department.

* * *

Shaundi was getting good at this. The badge V had to walk around with was pretty damn legit, and even though Shaundi was getting mildly suspicious about her need to own a secretary's badge for the police station, she never did do more than roll her eyes or smile.

They were all well aware of the 'truce' they had going with the police department. Not all of them were aware of the trips she often made to supplement this truce, however.

She played with the tail of her braided wig as she checked the papers in her hand, and wandered closer and closer towards Troy's office. The only complication, aside from any from him, would come from his own personal secretary.

This outfit had been used before - black hair, fake glasses, dark pencil skirt - so she would be recognized. It wasn't a huge problem, since her false background was close to another secretary in a separate department, but there was always that chance that someone would call her on it, and Troy would be left with the mess that followed.

_Hopefully,_ she mused as she grabbed some coffee, _today will not be that lucky day. _

She did have some interesting things to share about the rival dealers in the area, after all, so her intentions were mostly pure. …If she dug a while for them.

Linda, his secretary, looked up as she walked over, and V gave her a demure smile. "Morning. I know it's short notice, but is there any way that Chief Bradshaw is available? I have some information from a source that I think he needs to hear in person."

"And you are?"

"Bennet. Ms. Bennet."

Bullshit. All of it was bullshit, and she hoped it didn't show on her face.

She smiled back, but there was something almost secretive about it. V tried not to let the confusion show, but Linda shook her head and called him. "Chief Bradshaw, do you have a minute? A Ms. Bennett would like to speak to you about a source." She listened for a minute then nodded. "…Yes. I'll send her right in."

She went ahead, frowning at the secretary's amusement, and knocked on Troy's door before opening it. He was already pointing a glare in her direction when she made her way inside, and she feigned offense as the door closed behind her.

"That's fast, Chief. I haven't even had the chance to do anything yet."

"You're in my office at 11 AM on a Tuesday," he pointed out as she checked to make sure the shutters were closed. "You're doing something. Want to tell me what's going on, or…?"

Her heels clicked against the floor as she walked over to his desk,and placed the coffee down in front of him. "I'm getting to it. Impatient, much?"

Troy sighed, but did give her a smile once he took the cup. "Sorry. I think you know why I'd be a bit on edge here."

"Can't imagine why when your lovely liaison has an interesting bit of information for you," she said, taking a seat on the edge of the desk by him. "So I can claim that this is mostly business."

She waved the folder at him until he took it, and once he opened it up he gave it a quick once over. Then he gave it another. "Shit. This is something."

"See? I knew you'd want a look." She unbuttoned her blazer as he flipped through the files, and set it off to the side as she started to mess with her wig. "The crew I had working on that was pretty set on getting me info fast."

"Depending on how you framed that order, I don't find that hard to believe," he said, his eyes flicking over to her briefly.

V shook her hair out, the shorter length still manageable, and tossed the wig behind her. "I might've given them some incentive to do so."

She started to run her fingers over the buttons of her shirt, and she saw him swallow. "Don't tell me you've got an elaborate award system going now."

"No." She undid the first two. "But there is definitely room for advancement."

Her hands paused on the third, and he sighed as he set the folder down and moved the cup of coffee far away from them. The button popped open when his chair slid over, and she peered at him over her glasses when Troy touched her knees.

"What do you say, Chief?" she asked, placing her hands behind her on the desk. "I think I can spare you a point or two."

He pushed her legs apart enough for him to stand between them when he got up, and she wished he'd kept his hands on her. "That's generous of you."

His hat was sadly out of reach for the moment, so she started unbuttoning his coat instead. "I try to be a fair and balanced boss, when I'm not being fucking terrifying apparently. It's weird when recruits don't know whether to shake your hand or throw themselves down at your feet."

"Funny, you seemed to like it a few weeks ago."

He started undoing the rest of her shirt's buttons and she tilted her head up. The moments where he'd graze her stomach made a shiver run up her back, and she almost pouted when he didn't bother to help her finish removing it. "There's a difference. I think they're reaching now."

"You're the lady to impress," he said, shrugging out of his coat. He placed it on the back of his chair, and started to adjust his tie. "Why wouldn't they?"

This gave her the perfect opportunity to grab it. "I am, aren't I?"

He didn't even try to resist as she pulled him down. V wrapped the tie once around her hand, and held him close, giving him just enough slack to break the kiss if he wanted. He grinned as his mouth moved against hers, slowly easing it open, and she did her best to keep her breathing even. At least for now.

It was easy to forget when his tongue brushed against hers, however, and she wrapped her other arm around his neck. His hat fell off somewhere around this time, and as Troy pushed her back onto the desk she took in how warm his hands were as they traveled up her stockings. Her skirt was tugged up to gather around her waist, and she bit her lip hard as she tried not to make a sound.

He hooked her purple thong and pulled it down her legs inch by inch. It helped give his eyes ample time to look at her, and by the time it hit the ground she was almost ready to grab and shove him against the desk instead.

"Taking your sweet old time there?"

"I've got a meeting in twenty minutes, but there are some things that I don't like to rush," he told her, placing a kiss on the inside of her knee. "And honestly, I kind of want to tell them to fuck off."

He lifted her legs, and she felt another kiss further up. "Who?" she asked, her nails digging into the wood underneath her.

"Ultor suits."

He sucked on the skin on the inside of her thigh and she moaned. "Fuck them."

That drew a chuckle from him. "Yes, ma'am."

His mouth lightly touched her as her legs settled on his shoulders, and she couldn't help shifting under him due to how it tickled. Then his tongue ran over her, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

The whimper made its way out when he started circling her clit, and his fingers dug a little harder into her thighs. Quiet had never been her forte, a fact that she was reminded of when his tongue licked deep, making her gasp. He made a tutting motion with his hand in response, and she barely resisted the urge to kick him with her heels. It wouldn't have been easy, but she would've tried.

"Bastard," she muttered, biting back another moan when he slid a finger into her. "Awful, fucking bastard."

He didn't say anything, but she could hear him trying not to laugh, which felt interesting to say the least. She settled for flicking him in the ear and the disapproving look was worth it. Especially when his way of retaliating involved adding another finger and picking up the pace.

Her arms covered her face as her breathing grew harsh, and when Troy curved his fingers inside her just right, she kept her jaw clenched tight. This became almost painful as she got closer and closer, and when he hit the right amount of pressure she bit the inside of her cheek nearly hard enough to draw blood. He didn't slow down either, just kept on going as he drew out every stray motion and reaction left in her aching body.

When she was able to catch her breath and stare at the ceiling again, she felt him place a kiss on her hip.

"Okay, I think I might give you a point for that," she said, her voice uneven. "Just the one."

"What do I need for the second?"

She sat up on her elbows and brushed her hair out of her face. "You need to get those fucking pants off, for starters."

The playful glint in his eye betrayed his nonplussed expression. "That another order?"

"Get over here."

She lowered her legs and pulled him close again, kissing him as she tried to grope for his belt. Her hands caught it as he sucked on the skin under her jaw, and she moaned against the sting as he sucked harder. It took some effort, but the belt eventually joined everything else scattered on the floor.

"I want you to turn me around," she said, making eye contact as she pulled his shirt out of his pants, "and I want you to bend me over this desk. The fucking should be self-explanatory, eh, Officer?"

Troy gave an exasperated sigh. "Oh, don't start with that shit again."

"You know it gets you hard. Just a little," she teased, rubbing him through his pants. "Don't make me beg."

Her shit-eating grin disappeared when he took her by the arm and spun her around on the desk, giving her just enough time to steady herself with one hand. She wondered briefly if he was going to dig some cuffs out, and it made her legs grow weak as she heard him try to calm his own breathing.

His other hand moved up her leg and over her hip and she was so tightly wound again it hurt. He let go of her arm, and she heard a zipper drop as she stayed still. Then he kicked her feet apart, and she put both hands down in front of her.

Fingers teased at her first, running up and down as they grew slick, and she swore under her breath. Then they grew bolder and she tried to keep herself from rocking back against them. When they dipped inside she felt his breath on her neck, and V leaned back just enough to touch him.

He removed his hand – licking his fingers shortly after – and cupped her breast, lifting her bra up enough to touch the skin underneath it. The circles he traveled with his thumb made her chew on her lip as she felt him brush against her leg, and she let her hand drift back to find him. She only grazed the tip before he was bending her forward towards the desk, a warm palm on her lower back.

The drawer to her right opened, and out of the corner of her eye she caught the sight of a wrapper before it disappeared. Then she felt him start to press inside of her, and she immediately pushed her hips back to take him in. He groaned against her shoulder, and she kept up the pace, barely getting a breath in as he moved in and out of her.

The heels gave her enough height to angle her hips just so, and every time he hit that sweet spot she let him know.

Her control only carried her up until the point that his arm snaked down between her legs, and she let out a noise as he pressed down hard. Her arm curled around his in turn, rubbing in the same motions as he fucked her, and she leaned back to try to kiss him. He made the effort to return it as she moaned into his mouth, and hearing him moan back made everything in her tense.

He couldn't keep her entirely quiet as she came again, digging her nails into his wrist. He held her tight, however, clutching her to him as she mumbled incoherently and pressed a kiss to her lips.

His mouth then traveled to the dip in her neck, and he resumed a slower pace, thrusting as deep as he could go. It didn't take long for him to groan against her skin, his fingers digging into her hip, and she ground herself against him, listening for that familiar catch in his breathing.

Soon enough she heard it, his grip going almost hard enough to bruise, and she met him move for move, her hand still covering his.

Her legs wobbled when he came to a stop, her knees barely holding, and she grinned at the feeling washing over her. "…Might have to give you two and a half points for that."

Troy kissed her shoulder and chuckled. "You're too kind."

After leaning back again to give him one last kiss, they let each other go and didn't waste any time getting their clothes back on.

She tried not to wince when she saw just how wrinkled her skirt had become, and her shirt was just as bad. The blazer covered most of the evidence of that, but her little disguise was rumpled enough to ask questions about, and she wasn't going to give anyone a chance to do that.

Getting him back in order was a lot more fun, and she couldn't stop smiling as she fastened the last few buttons on his coat. "Kinda funny how we've been able to get away with this, eh? I mean, we've only done this a few times now, but I always wonder if someone's going to wander in while I'm on my knees, or we're testing your chair."

"Linda's been good about maintaining my privacy, but I'm trying not to think too hard about the people on the other side of the glass right now," he said, eying the blinds. "Just a bit close there."

"She seemed alright. Gave me kind of an odd look earlier, but it wasn't too weird."

"Whoa, wait. Odd?"

V shrugged as she tucked her hair back under her wig. "I got the impression that I amused her somehow, but that could mean anything. Doesn't mean that she knows I showed up with the intention of banging you." A smirk crossed her face. "Would be a hell of a guess, though."

"So much for business only," Troy replied, running a hand over his face. "Look, maybe it might be better just to limit this to my apartment. For simplicity's sake."

"Not feeling it, Chief?" she asked, aware that he was making a good point, but still disappointed by it.

He frowned and brushed some of the stray hair out of her face. "I'm feeling it. Probably too much to be wise, though."

She wanted to say something, but decided not to push it. "No, I get it. If there's anyone I'd rather not have see me naked it's your commish, and he's one sour bastard. Surprise inspections picking up?"

"How'd you guess? He's pissed that we're not taking the increase in drug circulation seriously. If he'd even taken a look at the reports he would know we're handling it, but there's no point in arguing. I can wrap it up in a day or two with what you've brought, and then he'll move onto the next big problem."

"How local crime has become commercialized?" she guessed, raising her eyebrows.

"Something like that. He comes back to that at least once a week, so why wouldn't it be today?"

"Fun, fun. Think I'll leave you to that then. Pierce's probably having a heart attack as we speak, because I actually think I might've had a meeting too." V thought it over for a second and laughed. "Shit, I think it was with Ultor. Go figure."

"It's just not their day." Troy looked her over, and the corner of his mouth curved up. "How about I take you out later? You can throw something like that getup back on and we can catch a movie."

"Like _this_?" She raised an eyebrow. "Never knew you were a fan."

"That's because the desk's doing its fucking job. Can't exactly talk my way around you if I've already got a hard on going and you notice, right?"

"Nope. I think I'd have to step in on principle." She glanced away, giddy from the high still, and gave him a small smile. "Sure. Call me later?"

"As soon as things clear up," he said, leaning forward to kiss her. He broke it off before it could get heated again, but traced a finger along her jaw as he turned away. "Careful with Linda. I'd walk fast if I were you."

V winked at him and cracked open the door. "Already on it."


	17. Chapter 17

Back to SR1 again, and this is just an excuse to write something silly and happy based on these two prompts.

_Describe  
26. One borrowing the other's clothes_  
_27. The pair entertaining themselves on a rainy day_

* * *

It was one of those days where Stilwater decided no matter how nice it was, it was going to pull a one-eighty and drench the hell out of you. This was, of course, one of the days when she and Troy had also opted to go back to his place on foot, so after a few minutes of running down the street they gave up and just walked the rest of the way. Neither were dry, and neither would be again until they found their way inside.

She wrung out her hat, and then her ponytail while he messed around with the keys to his door, and she knew she was still going to trail in a bunch of water behind her. Troy ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes, and cast an amused glance at her as she pulled her hoodie off.

That was the most waterlogged item on her, and she frowned. "I don't think we planned well for this."

"Tough to when it does that. Could be worse."

"How?"

"You could be a fan of white."

She smacked him in the arm and he grinned at her blush. "Proper gentleman, my ass." He pushed the door open and gestured for her to enter first. She rolled her eyes. "And being one now won't help any either."

"Why?" he asked, closing the door behind them once they were inside. "Not looking for one?

Spinning on her heel, V's hair followed her movement and nearly slapped him. "Do I ever?"

"Sometimes."

They were still close enough to the door for them to avoid soaking the carpet, and V tugged off both of her boots. "Well, that depends too," she teased, throwing her hoodie on top of them.

"On?" Troy got his shoes off while she stretched her arms over her head, and she didn't miss the way he was following her movements.

"If you have anything that isn't soaking wet to wear. I'm kinda shit out of luck here." Her tank top clung to her, and her denim shorts were going to be a bitch to dry. "Help a girl out?"

She pulled at his clothes first, managing to get his shirts over his head before he kissed her, and by the time they reached the bathroom neither of them were caring much about the line of things left behind. The shower was warm, but nowhere near as warm as his hands or mouth, and she let him press her against the glass as he focused on getting a sound out of her.

Her hand wrapped around him as he moved his lips over her neck and he paused as she stroked him slowly. She kept on moving as his eyes closed, and let go only to press a hand against his lower back. She angled her hips upward as they slid against each other and her shaky moan was drawn out as he took up her pace.

Soon after he was on his knees, his hands moving up her thighs, and she couldn't pretend to be silent anymore. Not with the way his tongue licked into her.

Her fingers ran through his hair, pulling it almost too hard to bear, but he didn't stop, not until she was half-bent over him, gasping for air.

One of his hands started stroking himself at this point, and she groped for him as he settled her onto his lap. He was already hard enough to groan at the slightest touch, but she kept up a quick pace, one that left him with his face in her neck as she got him just as good as he got her.

It was messy, but she licked whatever she could off of her hand before giving him a dirty smile. That always earned an interesting look from him, and she ducked away from his eyes as she got to her feet. "I can't trust you with showers."

He stood up and reached for the bar of soap beside her. "Is there anything I can trust you with here? I'm running out of options."

"Oh, shut up," she said, stealing the soap away. "You're the one who dragged me in here first. You always do."

"You seem to like it well enough," Troy said, his voice rough in a way she'd never get used to.

His lips brushed against her ear and she leaned back into him. "I do, don't I? Think I might need an additional reminder, though."

He grinned into her neck and she let the soap slip out of her hand.

* * *

"I'm staring at three pizza places, and I know we've done two of these before," V pointed out, scanning the numbers. She picked at the hem of Troy's old T-shirt, and stretched her legs out so they could rest on the coffee table. "Want to try the third, or just go for what works?"

"What did we do last time?" he asked, somewhere in the kitchen.

She thought about it for a second. "I think we did Steve's. It was okay."

"Try the new one then. Pepperoni's pepperoni, right?"

"You say that, but I still can't order anything Chicago-based."

She dialed the number, and he frowned as he walked over towards the couch with two beers in hand. "Because that's not pizza. People think they can pile whatever they want in a pan, bake it, and slap cheese on it, but at the end of the day it's nowhere near it."

"Why do you think they call them pizza pies then?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. The guy on the other end picked up just as Troy opened his mouth and she held up a hand. "Hey, I'd like to get a couple of _pies_ to go..."

He touched the bottom of one of the bottles to her bare thigh, and she yelped right in the poor pizza guy's ear. "Motherfu-shit, sorry. I've got the order right here."

Troy shrugged off her scowl like it was nothing as he turned the television on, and casually tilted his beer back. She rattled off what they wanted, and once she hung up she stole the remote.

He let her flip through them in a huff for a while, curled up far enough away from him to stay out of range, and she eventually caught something that made her light up. "Oh, fuck yes." A bar fight had erupted on the screen, and Troy stared over at her. "You are about to see a cinematic classic."

"Classic?" Everyone continued to beat the shit out of each other, and he watched it unfold skeptically. "This classic have a name?"

"Roadhouse," she said, turning towards him with her hands raised. "Patrick Swayze is a bouncer that is summoned to one of the worst bars in existence. It's a total shithole, but he takes it on himself to root out the corruption and bring order back. ...While also ripping a guy's throat out on the side. Classic."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he said, flatly.

"I couldn't make this shit up if I tried." V lifted one of his arms up to wrap around her and he pulled her close. "Just give it a try, okay? I'm sure it's not like you've never seen a 'so bad it's good' movie before. We all have one."

He sighed. "True. It just seems a little...counterproductive to use your spare time to relive the experience."

"Hey, some of these really are classics. Squirm, Manos: The Hands of Fate, C.H.U.D., hell, I could go on all night about this. Please tell me you've at least seen Troll 2."

"V, you're killing me here," Troy said, wincing.

"Okay, okay. Fine," she conceded. "If we get through half of this and you're still not digging it I'll find something else. Deal?"

He slowly turned back to the movie and drank the rest of his beer, looking relieved. "Deal."

The first thirty minutes weren't too bad, but he made a variety of faces at the screen that she wished she could commit forever to memory. They were just as ridiculous as what they were watching, and he gave her a look when she actually started laughing herself. It probably didn't help when she started quoting bits either, but bad habits were still habits.

"You know you didn't have to actually agree to this, right?" she asked, glancing up at him.

He played with the end of her braid and took a long drag of his cigarette. He'd lit one within the first ten minutes, but it still had a way to go. "You sounded like a movie producer trying to give a pitch. I think if I'd said no you would've pouted the rest of the night."

"I wouldn't have."

"V, I know you. It'd be bad. Besides, after three beers I think I have some idea of what's going on."

"Aside from what I told you earlier? I don't think so." She ran her fingers over his arm and he hugged her against his side. "But thanks. It really is kind of a shitty movie."

"Only twenty to thirty more minutes to go, right?"

She groaned."Almost. Almost had me there."

The buzzer went off ten minutes later, and he dragged himself away from her so he could get the door. As the only one wearing pants at the time it just seemed wise, and she took the opportunity to stretch out along the cushions.

It only took him a few minutes to drop the boxes off in the kitchen, but when he came back around he leaned his elbows on the back of the couch. The shirt was riding up around her stomach now, and she knew Troy was weighing his options.

"Pizza's getting cold," she said, resting her head on her arm. He shrugged and she let her lips curve up. "You're awful."

"You're gorgeous. Your point?"

Her face heated, and she had to break eye contact. "Flatterer. You should know better."

"Maybe, but you're still smiling."

She swiped at him as he escaped back to the kitchen, and she hopped off of the couch to follow him.

The movie didn't matter much after that.


	18. Chapter 18

SR2 time, but early on in the Ronin missions this time around!

* * *

"I can't believe that worked," V said with a laugh, as all three of them looked at the money sitting on Aisha and Johnny's coffee table. "We were so fucking stupid about it, and still managed to rake in the cash."

"Which was why I came up with the other idea, but fuck it. There's no point in going to back to it now, is there?" Pierce asked.

Johnny cracked open his beer. "Fuck no."

Pierce's shoulders sank even lower. "Yeah, I figured as much."

"Eh, you'll get over it. Just think about all the ways we're going to spend this. All the random shit we'll be able to throw around," V said, spreading her hands wide. "It'll be magical."

"Might want to buy yourself a shirt first, boss."

V narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"You trying to summon Jesus or something?" Johnny asked, pointing at her ratty tank top. "Because there's Sloppy Seconds, and then there's what they toss out the back for the thrifty fuckers to sort through."

"It's not that bad-" He put a finger under one of her exposed bra straps and snapped it. "Ow! You asshole!"

"Just calling it like it is," Johnny said, putting his feet up on the table. She was half out of her seat, scowling, but he didn't even bat an eye.

"Johnny?"

Aisha's voice traveled over from the other room and V mouthed a warning at him. He winked in return, and she made a furious grab for the remote as Aisha entered the room.

"Any reason why it sounds like someone's-oh, you did not. You did not just throw that onto this table. Do I even want to know where this came from?"

V exchanged a look with Pierce. "Well..."

"We hit a Ronin casino and lightened their load. They won't miss it," Johnny told her with a shrug. Aisha gave him a look and he lowered his feet. "Eesh, they won't. Besides, they've been sitting pretty too long. What's wrong with shaking things up?"

"Nothing, as long as that shit doesn't come through our door! It's not staying."

"Wasn't planning on keeping it here-"

"Hey!" V had been flipping through the channels as a distraction, but a breaking news segment was a different thing entirely. "I think we're on the air!"

Jane Valderamma was speaking outside of the wrecked Ronin casino - a place that had been one of the nicest gambling joints that V had ever stepped into - and gestured towards the bulletridden doors. _"The sudden robbery left many running for their lives as the criminals in question swept across the club. As to their intentions, we are just as uncertain, but maybe the Chief of Police can shed some light on this. Chief Bradshaw?"_

Troy took a brief glance at the camera, a grimace fixed on his face, then looked back at Jane. _"I'm afraid that I can't go over what is pure speculation right now. Details are coming in every minute, and until we're sure what's true, I can't give an official response."_

"_Can you comment on the 3__rd__ Street Saints' involvement then?"_

"_Involvement? I don't see how they-"_

"_The camera feed from the casino places three members there, and it's clear who two of those members are."_

Footage of the three of them opening fire on the slot machines came up, followed by Johnny's shotgun blast to a pool table and her attempt to use her bat to hit a pitched container of poker chips. The finger that she gave the cameras didn't help any and Johnny snickered when that panned by, the gesture blurred out just enough to pass on network TV. Pierce, on the other hand, had his back to the camera in every shot and groaned loudly when Jane ID-ed him as little more than their unknown accomplice.

Still, Troy remained set in his opinions, if not annoyed that he kept on having to repeat himself. _"There are no clear answers yet, but-"_

"_But what about Ultor's response to this event? Concerns that police might not be taking this as a serious threat have been brought up."_

"_Everything is being taken into consideration right now, but we have to take things one step at a time. Careful planning and investigation are the key here, not a sudden and violent response."_

Troy was sidestepping most of her questions like a pro. Why he would choose to do so when it came to them, however, still didn't make any fucking sense. None of it did.

Johnny hit her in the arm, and V turned to find him holding his fist out for her to bump. It took a second, but she gladly did so, bringing his grin back in full-force. "Think the Ronin know who we are now?"

"Without a doubt," she replied, grinning herself. "Now let's get this money out of here."

* * *

It didn't take long to scatter it all over the city. The pains that the Ronin had to have been going through to find it made her smile gleefully, and after talking with Pierce they considered doing it again once things calmed down just to fully get their point across.

Maybe with a little less firepower involved, but that was up in the air for now, much like her opinions involving Troy's response.

It frustrated her. Frustrated her and left her wondering just what his angle was. The cops weren't easing up on them any – she couldn't ever see him pulling a move like that – but the answer he'd tried to feed Jane wasn't going to fool anyone.

And it was still on her mind later when she was tagging the back of a building down the street from the police station.

Any artistic skill she'd had before being laid out was gone. She swung her arm out to try and add an embellishment, but the golden loop came off messy, leaving one wing lopsided. Blowing out a large cloud of smoke in irritation, she picked up a can of purple and tried to clear her head. No cops, no self-criticism, nothing.

She traveled another loop over the words to bring them out, and those turned out crooked too. Her paint-covered hand pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose, and she admired how it looked even worse tinted in orange. "Crap. So much for that."

It had been quiet aside from her swearing and pacing, so when she heard footsteps, she did her best to stay occupied. This close to the station she half-expected it to be some hot-shot cop looking to collar any of the Saints' big names, but her guest didn't tell her to drop everything and get on the ground.

No, they let her keep on going, and that fact alone made her lines all the more uneven.

"Looks like shit, doesn't it? " she asked after counting to one-hundred. "Then again, I never was the one to do most of the tagging."

"Lin's forte, right?"

V lowered the can and didn't quite turn around. "Yeah. She'd do some of the most beautiful fuck yous on the planet, and I can't even find one anymore."

Troy kept his distance and she felt her face twitch as she tried to keep it blank. "There are a few left. She probably didn't want anyone to find those, but...they're there."

She turned a bit more and took in the uniform that poked out from under his coat. It didn't go at all with the expression currently on his face, and it made her want to bolt. "Really?"

"Really," he said. "It's been a while."

She didn't respond, just felt anger creep up inside of her as she clenched her teeth.

Troy sighed and it made her tense more. "I, uh, didn't think I'd ever catch you apart from Johnny. He's been keeping you close, eh?"

Her jaw was beginning to hurt. He either didn't notice, or didn't want to.

"V." His tone dropped, and it was like a kick to her insides. "I've been meaning to-"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" She stared at him over the top of her sunglasses. "Thought I did, but I might've mistaken you for someone else."

It took a second, but the softness there left, leaving him neutral, controlled. She had wanted to see it go, but losing it only irritated her more. "Trick of the light. Fools a lot of people."

"Silly me. Should get my eyes checked."

"...V-"

"You going to arrest me, Officer? For destruction of public property or whatever the hell they're calling it now?" she asked, cutting in again. She dropped the spraypaint and turned around to put her hands behind her head. "Going to cuff me too? Might like that."

"You going to cut that shit out?" he snapped. "I'm trying to talk to you."

"About what?" she asked sharply, dropping her arms. She turned around and walked right up to him, her smile anything but friendly. "How I'm doing? How the gang's been? We can't exactly shoot the shit like we used to." His lips formed a thin line, but this wasn't good enough. She picked at the uniform hidden under his coat, flicking at one of the lapels. "Chief."

Troy flinched, but not as much as she expected him to. He also didn't pull a gun on her, or make any move to defend himself, so she knew he was on unsteady ground as much as she was. One of her hands balled into a fist, and she wanted to take a swing. Make him hurt, yell at him, do something. Just anything other than this.

"No, we can't, can we," he eventually said, his eyes never leaving hers. "Just a bit too complicated for that?"

"Why the fuck did you do it?"

He paused again and looked uncertain. "Do what?"

"Cover for us. Figured I'd ask since we're here and you haven't bothered to shove me against the wall yet."

The muscles in his jaw worked as he thought it over. "Is that how you took it?"

"No other way to. Unless you're trying to avoid all the paperwork that comes from acknowledging another gang-related fuck up. That would be a great thing to go over with your superiors. Who exactly do you answer to, anyway? I've heard some interesting things about Ultor floating around."

He chuckled, the sound coming off bitter in a way that she was all too familiar with, and she waited for him to leave. She still wondered why he hadn't yet. "They're pretty damn high up. Monroe was bad, but you don't want these guys to take notice."

"And that's what you're doing? Keeping them from noticing little old me?" He didn't answer, and she laughed. "Well, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to do this. Do you really want to start this shit all over again?" he asked.

"I'm not starting anything. I don't see why that's so tough for you to understand." V grabbed the discarded can of spraypaint and laid a hand by her portrait. The image wasn't complete, but the word 'Saints' was lined bold in purple, impossible to ignore. "I'm finishing it. This is our city, remember?"

"...Our city?"

The words didn't sound right coming from him anymore, but she didn't bother to correct him. "Our city. I'm not stepping down from this, Troy. Not until the day I die."

His eyes didn't leave her face. "And you'd do that? Even after all the shit from before?"

The answer was on her lips before he'd finished talking. "Gladly."

That made him turn away and she saw actual anger cross his face then. Anger, and hurt. She was too confused by the combination to enjoy either. "Of course. Of fucking course."

He turned and left, leaving her staring at his back.

She didn't wait until he was out of sight to go back to tagging, the can shaking loudly in her hand. "Nice talk, Chief. You ever want to chat again, you know my number," she threw out, tossing the paint up in the air to catch it.

She sprayed two more haphazard streaks and stepped back to look at her work. Then she took another step forward to lean against the wall. It held her steady enough, but she couldn't keep from holding her hands to her eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

Done for another prompt at the kmeme! Had a bit of fun with it too. Takes place in that lovely blank space between SR2 and the Third.

* * *

She had no idea how to deal with events like this. Before now the number of formal events she had suffered through had been a grand number of two – a failed homecoming, and an even more abysmal prom – and now she was attempting to schmooze it up at a ball. A Policeman's Ball, of all things.

Troy's invitation had come a couple of months after they had finalized their agreement, and when Johnny had torn it open he'd given her quite the look.

Then he'd very bluntly told her there was no way in hell he was putting on a monkey suit for that.

"Fair enough," she'd said, but on the day of he was standing downstairs with Shaundi and Pierce, and V smiled wide and pushed down any anxious thoughts concerning the evening.

This was the Saints' first outing with the police in their neutral zone. It was guaranteed to be tense as hell, and when they had all wandered in it had gone silent enough to hear a pin drop. Then she'd grabbed two glasses of champagne and shotgunned them, raising an empty glass to the stunned crowd before heading straight towards the bar.

Johnny had stalked after her while Pierce tried to loudly diffuse the situation, and V knew this was going to be a long one.

"Not bad," Pierce said at their table later, making sure his hat was angled right. "Aside from the little snag at the start, this is going to look good for us, boss."

"Schmoozing with the boys in blue? Sure." Johnny refilled her glass with the bottle he had borrowed from the bartender, and she ran a finger around the rim . "If we keep the property damage down to a minimum, right?"

Pierce took the bottle away from them and V pouted. "Yeah, because a nice hotel like this doesn't need any of us puking into the bushes due to drinking the bar under. No offense, boss."

"Spoilsport."

Johnny smirked and gave her the rest of his drink. "No misbehaving tonight? You know who we're talking about here."

She punched him in the arm. "Fuck you, and you too, Pierce. I can play nice."

"Right..."

"Give the boss a break, guys. Maybe we can relax for once. I know I am after that last fucking shift," Shaundi groused. "I'm having serious regrets about the applicant list."

"Thinking about redoing the questionnaire?" V asked.

"I'm thinking of redoing a lot of things..."

They all continued to talk and stay occupied, and they actually almost resembled normal attendees. Aside from the purple and the wide berth the room tried to give them. It eased as the evening wore on and no one appeared to be in a combative mood.

She had yet to really see Troy, however. This had to be a calculated move on his part, and she was practically scanning the room for any sign of him.

When he did make his appearance, it was with the commissioner by his side, and V didn't have any time to check him out before they were on the stage. They went through what she assumed was the usual spiel and Johnny stole the bottle back from Pierce to tilt it back. She clapped when she was supposed to, they went through the acknowledgments that Pierce pointed out on the flier, and they were generally well-behaved. Even when the commissioner had to take a good hard look at them.

Johnny leaned close once they started going into the silent auction and she felt her eyes beginning to droop. "I don't see how these fuckers can do this every year. I'm this close to throwing something just to get out of this damn chair."

"Give it time, man. It's one shitty evening, and I owe you big time for even coming," V told him, yawning. "Hell, maybe you'll win a kick ass door prize while we're here. Wouldn't it be worth it just to see them have to work around the fact that you won something of theirs? Legitimately?"

"Maybe."

Gat leaned back in his chair, and V put her chin in her hand for lack of anything better to do. Troy glanced over briefly, and she raised her eyebrows up. It didn't earn much of a reaction from him, but she did notice him purse his lips a bit as they went through the end of the acknowledgments.

A quick dinner was served after that, something with chicken, vegetables and a dessert vaguely resembling cheesecake, and then they were all freed again to do something anyone who had attended a ceremony dreaded.

Dancing.

V eyed the open floor and decided she was nowhere near drunk enough to tackle that yet, and stole another champagne flute from a server wandering around. Johnny had abandoned her at this point to avoid any chance of hitting it, while Pierce had actually begun to make the circuit, using his time wisely. She was decidedly not, and Shaundi found her while she was doing this, and coincidentally enough, staring over at Troy.

He was talking with a few other officers and V didn't think she was zoning out that bad until Shaundi poked her in the shoulder. "Boss?"

"Shit, since when are you the stealthy one?" V asked, jumping. "Nearly made me lose my drink."

"Never underestimate a good pair of heels. Are you okay? You look like you're trying to burn a hole in Troy's back."

"Great. Is that how it looks? If anything I'm just cursing the fact that moustaches exist again."

"Really?" Shaundi put a hand on her hip. "Do tell."

"Seriously. The fact that it's a cop thing doesn't help any, but it's just not right."

"What is?"

"How he had to get rid of it."

Shaundi definitely appeared confused now. "...What?"

"Every time I see him I wonder why he thought that damn thing was ever a good idea. The goatee probably wasn't ideal for the uniform, but it could've worked. Maybe," V sighed.

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Shaundi laughed. "Boss, you're waxing poetic over the Chief of Police's facial hair."

V waited, then took another large drink of her champagne. "It was a really nice goatee."

Something dawned on Shaundi's face, and V felt alarms start to go off in the back of her head. "Holy shit. I can't believe it."

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You had a crush on him. You seriously had a crush on him back when he was with us," Shaundi said, triumphantly.

"Fuck no," V sputtered, "I mean, he was something else, but..."

"Liar."

She frowned at Shaundi's large smile. "You're pretty fucking amused by this."

"You don't really date, so it's weird to actually have something to go off of, and older guys in positions of authority is a bit of a whopper, boss."

"Don't even go there."

"What? I can see how that would be pretty hot-"

"Shaundi," V said, her voice low. "I am not going to go into the finer details of this. Especially when you're pointing it out like that."

Shaundi sighed. "I'm just trying to have some girl talk." V tipped her glass back again only to notice it was empty. "Okay, I was hoping you would make a face at that, but I'm serious. I'm just trying to have some fun and gossip a bit. No harm, right?"

"Nope, of course not." She spotted Pierce and Johnny on the edge of the dance floor, and she pawned her empty glass off on another server as she quickly made her retreat. "I'm going to see if the boys need anything. Haven't seen them in a while, and you can never be sure, eh?"

"Sure, boss," Shaundi said, giving her a knowing look. "Sure."

Johnny appeared nothing short of miserable once she got close enough to greet them. His eyes might have been hidden, but V had a feeling they were watching everything. Pierce had been cheerful, but as she got closer she could hear the beginning of an argument that she wasn't sure Pierce would win.

"Yo," she said, putting her hands on Pierce's shoulders. To his credit, he did not jump. "I think one of you needs a break, while the other needs to help me cut up the dance floor."

"You remember those suits that showed up a month ago that wanted us to go over that fucking movie deal?" Johnny asked. "They're back at the HQ right now demanding to talk to someone in charge."

V let Pierce go. "The fuck? Couldn't they have called first? We're a little occupied."

"Apparently they did, but no one picked up," Pierce told her. "I'd call bullshit, but it's a decent investment. If they're crashing our place this late, then it has to be important."

"Shit. Got to take care of business then." She gestured towards Johnny. "Take Shaundi and see what the problem is. If it's important, talk. If not, kick them out on their ass. We're not at their beck and call."

He frowned. "You sure, boss?"

"Hell yeah. I'll be fine, and if I manage to royally fuck things up, Pierce's got me." She slapped Pierce on the back and he cringed. "Right?"

"Right, completely," he said quickly.

Johnny's frown didn't ease, but he did try to give her a weak smile. "Whatever. If they go, I'm making them take the express way to the bottom."

"At least let them talk first!" she replied, earning a real grin as he walked off. "I mean it, Gat!"

"Half of these cops are going to be parked outside of our place in an hour, aren't they?" Pierce asked, watching Shaundi and Gat head out.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, you owe me a dance. Want to get on that?"

He sighed, but still held out his hand for her to take. "You sure are dedicated to this tonight."

"I'm being responsible for once. Give me a break," she fussed, following him as he pulled her into a formal slow dance to fit the music.

"Yeah, I know, but you sure do pick some weird-ass times to do it." He spun her and she mock bowed to the jittery couple she was left facing before spinning back. "Still, not a bad idea at all, boss. Getting tight with the police does make things easier and if we're tight with the Chief as well then we might be able to get a few other things off the ground. Think we could start talking parade floats? It's never too early to talk Thanksgiving."

"Oh, no. We're not tight with the Chief," V said, nailing the transition back. "He's a few notches short of okay with us. Big difference."

"Maybe he's just okay with you then?" She dug her nails into his shoulder and Pierce winced. "Shit, he isn't?"

"You are all so fucking lucky I like you," she muttered.

"You two in the middle of something?"

Pierce skidded to a stop and V nearly tripped over his feet. Troy watched them with amusement and her face went red.

"Yes!"

"No?"

Troy let his eyes drift between them as Pierce mouthed an apology to her, and V knew she was stuck. "No, we're not."

"Then you won't mind me borrowing you for a bit?" he asked, looking sharp as hell.

V eased the death-grip she had on Pierce's hand and let go. "No, I guess not."

Pierce groaned. "Now you're leaving me too?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can find a nice lady cop to keep you busy. Or maybe a fancy gentleman. You've got those here, right?"

"If you know where to look," Troy said wryly, offering his hand to her.

She rolled her eyes hard as they walked away from an exasperated Pierce. "Maybe they can swoop in to save me then. Wasn't sure that touching me in public was kosher, Chief."

Troy snorted. "You're a sponsor. I think I can dance with you once and not worry about getting struck by lightning."

"Don't be too sure about that," she said, waggling her eyebrows.

Their slow dance did draw a couple of curious looks, but Troy's formal stance made Pierce's seem sloppy. Every step out of bounds that V took he corrected, and she noticed that he maintained a careful distance between them. A smile crept onto her face as he continued to be obsessively proper, and he tried not to smile himself.

"Can you quit it?"

"Quit what?" she asked, her innocent tone falling short.

"Being your usual charming self."

She was ready to retort when he pulled her close and went for a dip, making her squeak. Her short dress was not suited for any of it, and her face was burning when she came back up to his level. "You asshole."

His indifferent expression didn't match the mischievous look in his eyes one bit. "Guess we're both a couple of charmers then."

Her mouth stayed shut for a good five minutes after that.

She'd never had a chance to dance with him before. The old parties and celebrations at the clubs were a whole different beast, something which she enjoyed greatly, but not once had she caught him taking part. It didn't surprise her, but now it almost seemed to make perfect sense.

_Fucking cops,_ she cursed, following him closely. _Fucking cops and their bullshit rules. _

She'd play along for now, but if he dipped her again, she was kissing him. PR be damned.

The ball cut in before she could deliver on her promise, however. He was being waved away, and she took the opportunity to put her lips by his ear. "Meet me once you're done?" Her mouth was running, and she didn't feel like stopping it.

She expected him to shoot her down right there, but he didn't say anything right away. Then he squeezed her hand. "The fountain work?"

There had been an obnoxious fountain on the way to the main ballroom, some golden thing that might've been a mermaid. "Sure. Don't take too long."

He left and she wandered off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Her lipstick was smudged. She tried to fix what she could in the mirror she'd snagged from Shaundi, but it didn't seem good enough. That she was nervous over something as simple as lipstick made her want to slap herself silly, but she didn't leave. No, she wanted to see how this could play out, even if it meant smoothing her hair down and checking her teeth.

Stupid things, but old habits were old habits.

Pierce had ended up cutting out early after all, the cops he'd found to be agreeable had wanted to crash a club or two, but she'd joked that the show had to go on somehow, even if she had to be the frontrunner. That got her a critical look, but he didn't argue or try to twist her arm into leaving. He had also wisely kept his opinions on the matter to himself, and the minute he walked out the door she was left only with her questions and herself. And Troy, but he had yet to show, leaving her pacing around in the large space.

She had finally settled down on one side of the gaudy fountain to flick pennies into it when he showed up. He appeared both ready to sleep and ready to drink, so it was no real surprise when the first words out of his mouth involved alcohol. "I need a fucking drink. Let's head up."

She grabbed her heels off of the stone next to her and followed in her bare feet. "Not enough booze at the party?"

"There's never enough when it comes to politics."

On their trip up only one other couple entered the elevators and V leaned her shoulder against his as she yawned loudly. When his floor came up he put a hand on her lower back to guide her forward. She let him do so, liking the contact too much to end it, and it stayed until he had to get his door open.

It wasn't a large room at all, but it was comfortable. It also didn't seem like he'd only rented it for the night. "Is this your little home away from home?"

He put his hat on the small desk to the left of the television and went straight for the bottle of bourbon resting by it. "Sort of. It's private, and sometimes privacy's hard to get. I'm sure you know what that's like."

"Between Shaundi's dating show and Pierce's schemes? Yeah, it gets a bit weird from time to time." She left her shoes and clutch by the door and took the glass he offered, swirling what was inside once before downing it. Bourbon wasn't her usual by any means, but it went down smooth enough. "I think a photographer tried to climb in through my balcony once."

"You think?"

"I wasn't exactly awake at the time, but Johnny had been outside taking one of our cars for a spin. He caught the guy trying to scale the front and...that didn't end well for him or our security staff."

Troy lowered his glass and rubbed his lips. "Fuck. I think I remember seeing that cross my desk, and by the end of the day the guy wasn't even thinking of pressing charges."

"Johnny's kind of terrifying like that. Can I?" He poured her another and she decided to sip it slowly this time around. "Good stuff."

"Eh, it's all right," Troy said, taking his time with his own. "Takes the edge off."

"You threw us all, you know. When you sent that invite." She leaned back against the desk and tapped her nails on the wood. "I think Johnny had been seconds away from ripping it up before I'd walked in."

"You could've called for a replacement."

"Troy." She gave him a look and he took a longer drink in response. "You know it's not good for your health to intentionally piss him off, right?"

"So's smoking and drinking, but you're probably right. Don't need Gat pointing another gun at my head so soon, but if it'd been tonight at least it would've added something to the party. Almost fell asleep on my feet twice."

V sighed. "Idiots. All of you, I swear."

He chuckled and put his glass down to unbutton his coat. It went on the back of the chair, and when he started messing with his tie she reached over to tug at it.

Her glass joined his on the desk and she smoothed the tie down as she ran her fingers along the knot. "I'm starting to think I have a thing for uniforms."

It came loose and his hands touched her elbows, holding them gently. "Why's that?"

"You look good, and seeing you all dressed to the nines is kind of impressive. ...For a cop."

"For a cop?"

"Yeah, but you might be the exception here." Her fingers ran over a button or two on his shirt, picking at them slightly. "Just saying, Chief."

His hands slid up her arms and he leaned forward, covering her mouth with his.

It made her halt for a second, but the light touch made her heart pound, and she'd missed that. Missed him. Maybe he'd missed it too.

When his palms moved over her shoulders she shivered and kissed him back, opening her mouth enough to trace her tongue over his lips. It made him swallow, and she did it again until he opened his mouth in return. She deepened the kiss slowly, taking in the gradual change in his breathing, and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close.

His hands continued to travel over her, and she moaned when they moved over her breasts. The strapless dress left just enough skin exposed for him to graze it with his fingertips, and she rested her forehead against his as he touched the skin under the edge of the fabric. One of her hands drifted behind her, and dropped the zipper, kissing him hard as her dress hit the ground.

He let her have the lead after that, pulling him towards the bed to sit him down at the edge. V tilted his chin up to kiss him again as she climbed onto his lap, and he touched her sides lightly before she placed his hands directly over her chest.

"No need to be shy," she whispered against his mouth, and he squeezed her carefully in response. "Troy, please."

His eyes moved over her as she let go, and he wrapped an arm around her lower back to lift and push her against the bed. A gasp left her, then a sharper one when his tongue ran over a nipple, and as he sucked it into his mouth she tried to fumble at the buttons on his shirt. Somehow she made it through two as he moved to her other breast, and she eventually gave up to run her hands through his hair. His hands ran down her stomach, every inch of her wanting more of that warmth, and when he rubbed her through her underwear she rocked up against him with a whine.

Instead of moving lower, he came back up, pushing his tongue into her mouth as she ground harder against his hand. One finger traced along her, and she gripped him tight as he repeated the motion until she was shaking.

"You're that damn wet, eh? Fuck." He moved her underwear to the side and she heard his breath grow ragged. "God, V."

Hearing him moan her name made her flush, and he eased a finger into her as she tried to reach for his shirt again. The easy pace made her want to move her hips in time, but she forced herself to focus on the buttons only. When she finished half he added another finger, and she started rocking with him, gasping when his slick fingers moved over her clit.

She grit her teeth and made her way to the bottom button, getting it open just as he pressed down hard, and she writhed against him as her body tensed and tipped over that invisible line. It hit her hard, making her legs curl up around him as she bucked up, and when she was left nothing but a breathy mess, he pressed a hungry kiss to her mouth.

The bite she gave to his bottom lip wasn't too gentle, and after she stripped him of his shirts, she sucked hard on his neck, staining him red with her lipstick.

It wasn't enough, though. She pushed Troy over onto his back and got his belt open in record time, giving him next to no warning before he was in her mouth. He swore loudly and she went fast, wanting to hear him groan as she tightened the seal of her lips.

He moaned her name again, and she withdrew to lick him slowly, drawing her tongue around the tip. She did this twice before he pulled her up and tried to yank her panties down. V helped him slip them over her thighs and watched as he tried to calm himself long enough to think.

"Missing something?" she asked, trailing her nails down his chest.

He shimmied his pants the rest of the way off, and sat up, drawing her onto his lap. "No. Just...working on it."

Having him that hard against her was cruel, and she stroked him as he tried to grab for his pants. He hissed when she helped him roll the condom on, and she used his shoulders to push herself up to sink onto him.

She held on tight as she eased up and down, and she felt his hands dig into her thighs as she took him in deeper and deeper. Her eyes slid closed as he rested inside of her, and she felt him start to shift his hips up. She moved up as well, forcing him to push her back down and she gave him a wicked grin as she moved with him, but not entirely.

It didn't take as long for him to lose his patience this time, and he pushed her onto her back, taking in her coy smile before pushing deep into her. Her legs wrapped around him tight, and she knew she was scratching him a bit harder than intended, but it was difficult not to with the way he rolled his hips against her.

The steady rhythm brought back memories as he slid in and out, and she couldn't help but feel content. She kissed him wherever she could, her mouth rambling when she wasn't, and he moved faster when she spoke to him directly, telling him three words over and over.

He groaned his response against her lips when she felt him go, and she held him tighter. Rocked with him as he buried his face in her neck, and her fingers threaded through his hair.

Then it was just the two of them again, wrapped up together in a place where no one could find them. It was almost as if things had never changed, and she wanted to hold onto that. That old familiar feeling.

As his breathing relaxed, Troy pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth and brushed her bangs out of the way, glancing down at her.

"Is this going to be a regular thing now?" she asked, warm and comfortable in his arms. "Just like the good old days?"

His eyes drifted away from her, and his mouth drew into something close to a frown.

"Troy?" He still didn't look at her, and V put a hand on his chin to gently turn it. "Hey. Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Think too much. You always think and think and think and this doesn't have to be that complicated. Not this time around," she said.

He ran a finger over the back of her hand. "Simplify it for me then."

"I've lost a lot of things. Time, friends, family. It hasn't been easy, but it's helped me realize a few things." She swallowed the lump in her throat and made herself continue. "I know what I am doesn't make this easy, and what you are sure as hell doesn't, but I'm sick of letting it rule me. This is me and you. and if this is what we want why shouldn't we have it?"

"For what it is?"

"Yeah. It's not exactly normal, but we're not exactly normal either. I don't know what I'd do with that, honestly."

"And anyone else who'd tell you to do otherwise? Just fuck them?" he asked, turning his head to kiss her palm.

"Fuck them. Simple as that."

"Simple, huh?" He cracked a smile and she let out a sigh of relief. "...Simple enough for me. But you know we can't exactly parade this around, right?"

"I know, and I'm willing to work with that. Besides, we've already got some experience with that behind our belts. Shouldn't be too difficult to get back into the swing of things if we want, eh?"

"Nah, shouldn't be too bad," he said, looking at her fondly. "And I do want it. Want you."

V actually had to break eye contact then, but that was more to hide the stupid grin on her face than anything else. "Good, because I'm not very good at handling the walk of shame bit."

"And I'm not very good at taking directed shots to the balls either, so I think we've saved each other some trouble."

She laughed and hugged him, her forehead resting against his. He held her just as tight.


	20. Chapter 20

Just something light way, way back in SR1 towards the beginning of the game. Figured I'd get this down before going all serious again.

* * *

V's arm itched. Keeping it covered helped to put it out of her mind, but the temptation to scratch it through the sleeve of her hoodie lingered like crazy. With two tattoos already on her she knew that doing so was a bad idea, but it didn't make it any easier to ignore, especially when all she had to do was lift the sleeve to get to it.

After seeing so many bright and lively variations of Saints pride floating around it'd only made sense to get inked too, so when the idea hit her and finally stuck she let it carry her all the way to Rusty's.

The artist there didn't ask too many questions when she picked out the design from the ones they offered, and lucky for her it only required one session to complete. Still, getting it had been a bit impulsive on her end, even if it had turned out pretty sweet.

Sammy was smoking in one of the corners of the church, idly talking to another Saint she hadn't met yet, and V shook her arm out as she approached them. "Yo, Sam."

He glanced up and gave her a smile. "What's up, girl? Enjoying your time off?"

"I was, but it gets old after a while. Figured I'd drop by and be social for a bit."

"Yeah, I get you."

He held out a cigarette for her to take and she took a seat by the two, lighting it quickly while the woman he was with eyed her curiously. "Who's your friend?"

"Well, shit. You haven't met yet? This is Dee. She's with Troy's crew."

Dee gave her a small wave and folded her feet under her. She looked Hispanic or mixed, and her short platinum hair was one of the lightest shades she'd ever seen. "You're V, eh? Having fun racing around?"

"When the car isn't falling apart around me, sure," she joked, remembering how the last one nearly caught fire after a nasty accident. "They don't make the damn things like they used to."

She laughed. "No, they don't. Probably why I opt to stay out of shit like that. My driving blows, and the last thing I need is to get sardined for it."

Sammy leaned towards V. "For real, don't ever hitch a ride from her."

That got him a quick kick from Dee, and V snickered as the two challenged each other. "Don't listen to half the shit coming out of his mouth. He can barely drive stick."

"No worries there," V teased, rolling her sleeves up to give her tattoo some air. "And you aren't lying about the stick bit. Burns the clutch like crazy."

Sammy gave her the finger, but whistled when he saw what she had been hiding. "That's new."

"Can I?" Dee took her wrist and V let them both get a good look at the fine lines covering the top of her forearm.

"It's a week old. Got it while I had a day or two to fuck around." Dee gently turned it to the side and V had to admire the outline of the wings gracing her. The tat was easily the most elegant thing she had now. "It hasn't been too bad, but there are times when I watch to scratch it raw. Drives me nuts."

"Didn't want to go for the fleur?"

"Wasn't feeling it at the time," she said, taking a decent drag off of her cigarette. "There's always later, right?"

She smiled and let V's arm go. "Smart girl. I was a few days in and let my adrenaline do the thinking when I got mine." Her fingers hooked the loop of her jeans and pulled them down far enough to expose a large violet fleur de lis. The long T-shirt kept the top part of it hidden, but V guessed it had to cover a good quarter of her hip. "I might've overdone it."

"Looks gorgeous, though," V said, admiring it. "Tough to show off, but if I had something like that I think I'd make it work."

"I try to do it justice. Just got to catch me at the right time if you want a real show." Dee winked at her and let it disappear out of sight. "Great for parties, public and private."

V was definitely smiling at this point. "Good to know."

Sammy cleared his throat. "I hate to break this up, but they were asking about you earlier, V. Had some work, I think."

"Shit, why didn't you say so?" V asked, putting out her cig before getting to her feet.

"Got distracted. Can't fault me for that, right?"

"No, guess I can't, but you're buying me dinner later. For the trouble."

"You're buying us both dinner, actually," Dee told him, checking her nails. "You still owe me for the fuck up I got you out of last week, and I think a steak dinner would be just the thing to make it up to me. Sound good to you too, V?"

Sammy put his face in his hands and V giggled. "Relax, man. As amazing as that sounds I think we can aim for somewhere cheaper. Phuc Mi Phuc Yue work?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get out of here," he said, waving her off. "Troy's in the usual spot."

She had a bit of a hop to her step as she cut down the hall leading to the offices and slowed down when she spotted Troy and Johnny. They were both sitting at the desk, a couple of beers cracked open by them and V paused by the doorway. Gat was laughing about something, and Troy was doing his hardest not to be amused by any of it.

She knocked twice on the wall and she seriously hoped she wasn't interrupting anything too important. "Hey, uh, hi?"

Troy aimed his amused expression at her and waved her inside. "Hey. Been meaning to catch you."

V shoved her hands in her pockets and wandered forward, keeping her movements as casual as possible. "Would've been by earlier, but Sam wanted to talk my ear off."

"Sure you weren't showing off? Noticed you finally stopped by Rusty's." Gat said, his eyes moving over her.

_Shit._ She glanced down at her uncovered arm and had to stop herself from jerking the sleeve back down. "Um. Yeah. Was going to happen at some point. Figured now was good."

Troy exhaled, and V tried not to stare at the tattoo on his own arm. "Sting much?"

"Nah, not too bad. It's the itching that's the problem."

"Not as bad as the other one?"

He tapped his shoulder and V felt her face warm a bit. "You caught that? Not much gets by you, eh?"

Johnny chuckled and Troy pursed his lips, but didn't say anything in response. Pushing her nervousness down, she unzipped her hoodie and slipped it off, turning around to give them both a better look. The twin fish swimming on her right shoulder blade were done in white, standing out just enough to be noticed.

"Got it done as soon as anyone would take me. Should probably get it touched up, but I keep on putting it off."

"Why that one?"

Troy would ask. "Looked good. When it's your first do you need any other reason why?" She tugged the hoodie back on after a minute, and tried not to shuffle around on her feet too much. "Probably should've skipped the one on my neck, though."

"Guy con you into it?" Johnny asked, smirking.

She nodded and tried not to remember the hangover that came with it. "Drunken tats are never a good idea, because anything sounds good when you're oozing out of the seat or trying not to throw up. At least that didn't turn into too bad of a disaster."

"Can do worse than a star. Knew a guy that tried to get his girl's face over his heart, but missed the step where he was supposed to stay still and quit being a douchebag," Johnny said, leaning forward in his chair. "The guy doing it wasn't too happy about it, so he left a little surprise waiting for him."

"What?"

"Put his face there instead. Close enough, right?"

"Shit," Troy said, wincing. "That must've gone over well."

"Nah, he tried to beat the shit out of him, but by then the owner was asking for protection. Had to step in and negotiate. Settle things down. Shotgun's pretty good at that."

It didn't take an active imagination to see how that had gone. "Ouch. Not much left of him to ID after, I guess. Clean up must've been fun too." Gat shrugged, but the glint in his eye made her hair stand on end. "So, Troy. You had something for me?"

He switched his attention away from Johnny and sat up. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me. You've done good work with the cars lately. Impressed Miguel and word's gotten around." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it out. "Got more work in Chinatown if you're interested."

"Interested? Hell yeah." The scrawled number was difficult to read, but she could make out the gist of it. "Thanks."

"No problem. You're good at what you do, so why wouldn't I send this your way?"

The compliment made her avert her eyes, and she started backing towards the door. "I'll get right on it then. Anything else you want me to check out?"

"Not for now. Keep an eye on your phone, though. You never know when something'll pop up."

"Cool," she said, mock-saluting them. "Catch you two later then."

She nearly bumped into Dex on the way out, and she babbled an apology as she ducked around him. Johnny's laugh followed her down the hall, and she tugged her hat down.

It didn't do a thing to hide how red she was, but that didn't matter much. She was too busy trying to figure her way around the swell of pride that had settled in her chest.


	21. Chapter 21

Another short one, but this was inspired by a post on the kmeme that involved Troy visiting the boss in the hospital. This is in that rough area between SR1 and 2, but not too long after the explosion.

* * *

It took him a few weeks before he could work up the nerve to go to the hospital. That first step inside nearly made him pull a one-eighty and march out, but he wanted to know. On some level he needed to know, and the only way to find out was to get his answers from the doctor himself instead of through hearsay at work.

The department would cut it down to the essentials also. Was she dead or alive? Was she awake? Both would get a yes or no answer and leave it at that. They wouldn't tell him just how bad the burns were, or the lengths it would take to keep her healthy and comfortable.

No, he wanted to know. Even if that knowledge would be as reassuring as a knife to the ribs.

The nurse at the front initially gave his badge a wary look, but when Troy specified who he was visiting, her expression changed entirely. "I'll get the doctor if he's available. Please wait."

He'd dressed down on purpose, but this was still police business, at least on the surface. He'd been one of the men on the scene. He'd also been one of the men closest to her in the gang. While one flew, the other didn't, and he hoped this wouldn't go too far up the chain. Half the department didn't know what to do with him right now, while the other kept on wanting to sing his praises, and he wasn't sure what he wanted to hear from them any more.

The wait stretched just long enough for him to want a cigarette, and he rubbed his fingers together as an older man exchanged a few words with the nurse he'd talked to. He then waved him over. "Officer?"

"Doctor Scott?"

"That's right, son." He shook the man's hand. "Come this way."

The two walked down the busy halls towards what Troy guessed was his office, and he shoved his hands into his pockets, one hand holding onto the pack of cigarettes waiting for him. When they kept on going, his grip tightened, and by the time they had stopped outside of one room in particular he knew he'd crushed it.

Hospital security was waiting outside, and while he knew why, he had to stop from asking them, 'Why the fuck for?' She wasn't about to get up and walk out, or shoot her way out. Still, judging by the way the guy refused to relax that was what he believed, and would keep on believing for as long as he was posted there. He kept on checking his pockets and gear, and all his fidgeting put Troy on edge, even if he had no reason to be.

Doctor Scott waited as Troy dug his badge out again - _might as well flash it just to be safe – _and the guard let them go inside.

He took one step in, and then another, and then he couldn't move anymore.

The doctor was talking to him, going over specifics, running down her treatment regimen, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Off of the person that was her, bandaged and hooked up to too many things he didn't know shit about.

It made him think of that night. How they pulled her out of the bay, and he felt cold again. Cold and absolutely helpless in every regard.

"She can't stay here much longer, Officer," Scott said after a moment, tapping his fingers on her file.

He tore his eyes away from her to stare the doctor down. "What are you talking about?"

"We took her in on short notice and that was fine, because the burns she sustained needed treatment. If we hadn't there's no guarantee she would've made it. However, now that the treatment's coming along, it would be in the hospital's best interest to relocate her."

"...Because you think she'd be a danger to the others."

"Think?" He raised an eyebrow at Troy's flat tone. "This woman's been on the news for almost a week straight. She still hasn't shown any signs of consciousness, but I'm a doctor. It's my job to take care of my patients and ensure that they will receive proper care."

"While also keeping them safe. No, I understand," Troy said, letting his eyes go to her again. "We'll help transfer her to Stilwater Pen. They can take up the reins from there."

"Good. We'll send along the paperwork so that can get started. Was there anything else you wanted to know? I believe my summary's already been filed-"

"Can I have a moment? Just to say a few words."

The doctor's sympathetic expression was almost unexpected, and Troy felt himself frown in response. "Of course. I'll be outside."

When the door shut behind him, Troy almost felt frozen to the spot. With the beeping of the heart monitor as the only sound in the room, he found it hard to breathe, and the shaky sound that came out of his mouth wasn't one that he wanted to hear.

He forced himself to turn and approach her, walking up to the side of her bed.

It was worse there, but he'd made it this far. He wasn't going to opt out of this just because he couldn't muster up the fucking nerve to stand close to her. To look down and-

His hands twitched in his pockets and he wanted to touch her. Couldn't even do that.

A small laugh slipped out and he turned his face towards the ground as he tried to compose himself. The vice tightening in his chest wasn't letting up either, and he knew he couldn't be in here much longer.

"Hey," he tried, keeping his voice steady. "I, uh, I don't even fucking know how to start this. Um, the doctor's told me that you're doing good. Making progress."

There was no way to tell with the bandages. There was too much white, on the walls, and on her. She'd hate this room and how sterile it was, and he was starting to hate it too.

"They're going to move you to the Pen. I don't know if I'll be able to fight it, but I'll see what I can do. If I can do something. I need to do something. Anything."

"_Where the fuck are you? Look, I understand that sometimes shit comes up, but we need you. I need you. Please, pick up. Please. ...Troy?"_

"God, I've fucked up. I've fucked up everything, haven't I?" Troy scrubbed a hand over his eyes and made himself step away. "I'm sorry, I-" He couldn't form the words. Not even now. He shook his head and went straight for the door.

* * *

"Oh, hi. Did you need anything?" the nurse at the front asked, puzzled that he was back again so soon.

"Yeah, I was wondering if there was a way to get flowers. Common courtesy and all that."

The nurse slapped a smile onto her face and Troy knew she was picking up something strange. He just didn't give a fuck right now. "Of course. You can have flowers delivered directly to their room. Any in particular you have in mind?"

"...No." He drew a blank. Nothing stood out in his mind at that moment at all. "Nothing. It's just flowers, right? Shouldn't matter."

The nurse didn't know how to react to the bitterness there and her smile faltered.

"Nothing much to them at all," he murmured, shoving his hands back in his pockets as he walked out.


	22. Chapter 22

Takes place in SR2 in the middle of the Ronin missions at the suburbs strip club stronghold. Wanted to get some more Johnny down here, before I jump back into Take Two's next chapter, so here we go!

* * *

It was too loud. Too loud and there were still too many fuckers in front of her wearing yellow.

Her SMG went off, sweeping from left to right, but it did nothing. At least that's what it felt like as V ducked back into cover. Johnny was within arms reach of her and she couldn't even begin to count the number of casings hitting the ground around him. When he had no choice but to stop and reload, she darted back up and kept up the fight, not wanting to give them even a moment of peace. They hadn't earned it, and she wasn't about to let them have it.

"You think they'll ever try to get a lap dance here again?" she asked when she had a chance to speak again. Only one clip was left on her, but she wasn't worried about a shortage of guns or ammunition with what was going down around them. Maybe to jazz things up a bit she could steal one of their fancy swords. At least three had caught her eye before she'd crouched down behind the table, and it wasn't like they were going to use them again.

"Don't know, don't fucking care," Gat threw out, his attention fixed in front of him.

His assault came to an abrupt stop when his bullets ran out, and he threw the rifle to the side with an angry yell. She tossed him her SMG, loaded and ready to go, and skidded across the floor to the next spot with proper cover. The strip club didn't seem to have a lot of it, but all she needed was a place that disrupted their line of sight.

A body was slumped within a foot of her and she snagged their pistol, ejecting the clip to check if there was anything left. She glanced up in the middle of counting the bullets down, and felt a wave of panic rise as Johnny cleared their cover completely to deal with the remaining Ronin left standing. The gun shook as she took aim, and she managed to score two hits before he absently mowed them down, not even acknowledging the shots that had grazed the air by him.

"Fuck," she breathed, lowering her weapon. It trembled in her hand, and she sat there staring dumbly at him as he fired his last few rounds into a nearby body. When the SMG was empty, he dropped it to the floor and grabbed one of the discarded shotguns, checking to see if it was loaded. V barely had time to grab extra ammo herself before he was heading up the stairs, oblivious to everything but what was standing in front of him.

She scrambled to get to her feet, his name caught in her throat, and took the stairs two at a time until she was left with nothing but more spent casings and dead bodies. The sound of gunfire carried her after that, and she nearly ran over two more Ronin in her rush to find Johnny.

The one in front of her drew her sword, and V ducked to the side as the other tried to draw a bead on her. The katana nicked the wall by her head, and V caught the woman's arm when she tried to bring the sword back up again. The headbutt that followed threw the Ronin off balance, and V threw her handgun at the other's face. It hit his nose, making red go everywhere, and V used the advantage to steal the lost sword and jam it into his stomach.

The graceful weapon wasn't meant for this, but there were some days when couldn't finesse her way out of a paper bag. Today was one of them. V tried to yank the katana out, and had to plant a boot on the guy to give her the leverage needed to do so. He fell, and V ended up dropping the sword for her gun anyway just as the other Ronin had regained her footing. She only had enough time to throw out something in Japanese before V sent a bullet her way for her troubles.

Then she was running again. Johnny wasn't present, but she could still hear him continuing the fight. Turning one last corner, she caught sight of the stairs leading to the roof and rushed towards them, ignoring the way her lungs had begun to burn. Gat wasn't far ahead once the purple of his shirt caught her eye, and she didn't think, just acted as she flew forward to dive for his midsection. Plaster flew as they fell out of sight, and V's gun was back in her hand by the time she darted back up to retaliate.

It only took one shot for her to send the Ronin over the edge of the roof and the second he disappeared, V felt something clamp down hard on her wrist. Johnny shoved her down, her back slamming against the brick, and she felt something unfamiliar rise up as he towered over her. Fear.

"The fuck was that?" he asked, his voice even.

That made her heart beat even faster. "Saving your stupid ass from getting shot. What do you think?"

"Do I look hurt to you?"

"Don't even fucking try to throw that at me," she spat, trying to ignore the way her voice wavered. "You were up as soon as the meds allowed it, and I see you've completely forgotten about the stitches you've probably ripped. Great work there."

His grip tightened, making her wince, and the minute that crossed her face he quickly let go. "You're supposed to stay behind me."

"Side-by-side or nothing, you ass. That's how we do things."

"...Fucking moron." Gat tried to get mad again, but it couldn't cover the way he'd regarded her in that moment.

V watched him glance over their cover, her heart hammering away. Then she saw it. The dark red spot spreading out on his side. "Johnny."

"There's four left. They're on the ground," he said, not even fazed.

"Johnny. I think something tore."

"Figures. Got to take those motherfuckers out first, though." V pushed herself up onto her elbows and put a hand to his side. He pulled away with a snarl. "Fucking drop it!"

"Fuck that. You're doing exactly what I say the minute we leave this place." Johnny stared her down, and V bared her teeth. "I'm not asking."

"Fine," he said, turning towards the Ronin waiting below.

"Fine." She stood up and opened fire.

* * *

He had trouble making it down the stairs by the time the Ronin had finally been picked off, the adrenaline carrying them no longer running through their systems. She had one of his arms draped over her shoulders as she guided him down, and he swore at her every step of the way. She swore just as loudly back, angry that things were stuck at this point instead of where they should've been. With him by her side, healthy, ready to get to work on the next target.

Instead they were arguing as he bled and it was too close to that night. His blood had been on her hands once, and she wasn't ready to have it on her again.

V handed him a hoodie she'd picked up from one of the abandoned seats, and made him hold it down over the wound as they drove back to her place. They were already failing nursing 101 she was sure, but the improvised bandage seemed to work well enough, and that was okay with her for now.

The minute they got through the door to her tiny apartment, Johnny let it fall to the floor, and V went straight for the medical bag stashed in her bathroom. Everything came back out with her, and she cracked it open on her dining room table so she could dig out the essentials. With the bandages in hand, she went back to Johnny – still standing in the same spot she'd left him - and tried to tug at his ruined shirt. "Johnny, this needs to come off."

He brushed her hands away. "I'll take care of it."

"Yeah, like you were before?"

He stepped back and when she tried to get closer, he put even more distance between them. "Was doing fine until you tackled me, but the fuck do I know?"

V wavered for a second, then pushed past her guilt anyway. "I'm a fucking idiot, okay? But that's not helping you bleed any slower. Let me help."

"No." Johnny started to walk off and V grabbed his arm. "Get that off of me."

"No," she replied.

"I'm not playing, boss."

"So why do you think I am, eh? Maybe it's not getting through your fucking skull, so let me spell it out for you. I need you up and moving, and not bleeding all over the place due to something as stupid as wounded pride."

He turned back around and stepped right into her space, his face twisted into a sneer. "It ain't fucking pride-"

"Then it's you being a reckless, selfish prick! Didn't you hear me? I said that I _needed_ you, and I am not going to stand by while you bleed to death all over me again. I-I can't do that. Not again." She shook her head as he fell silent, his hands slack by his sides. "I can't do this without you, you know. I can't."

"You could."

"What if I don't want to_?_" Her throat tightened, and she closed her eyes. "Call me weak, or whatever, but I don't."

He didn't. He didn't say anything at all. V opened her eyes to find him rooted there, some of that same expression from the roof of the strip club present, and she didn't know what to do with it.

So, she avoided it, pulling enough of her anger back to use it. That was territory she could work with, and she drew her mouth into a thin line. "Are we done?"

Gat raised his chin, but nodded.

"Good." She shoved the bandages into his hands and pointed at the couch. "Now hold these and sit the fuck down."

His grip tightened on them, but he took a seat and let her get his shirt off. The stitches had begun to tear, but not too badly and she pulled the kit over to clean them. Johnny didn't say a word as she did so, tensing only a couple of times as she worked, and when she told him to help her wrap the bandages around him he did so without complaint.

The tight expression on his face told her he wanted to do anything but, but she gave him a grateful look anyway as she secured it. "You're lucky my asshole move didn't hurt you too bad."

"Why?"

"Because then I'd have to actually do some doctoring, and I've got a pretty shitty bedside manner."

The corner of his mouth tried to turn up. "I can fucking believe it. You start talking bedpans and I'm throwing your ass out."

"Tut, tut. No need to be rude," she said, smirking. "Though if you still need me to hold your hand from time to time, I wouldn't mind."

"Fuck off." There. Gat was smiling now, and she felt her shoulders relax. "You got anything good to drink around here?"

"Good? No. Decent? Maybe." She wandered over into the kitchen to wash her hands and checked her fridge. Only the cheap beer she'd dipped into the night before stared back at her. Three bottles were left, and she shrugged before pulling two out. "Okay, so borderline decent. That work for you?"

"Eh, whatever."

V cracked them open and handed him one, taking a seat next to him on the lumpy sofa. He made a face, but drank it slowly as she turned the television on to something worthwhile. Or at least tolerable. Bobby and Amber popped up and she glanced over at him for his approval.

Johnny leaned back and chuckled. "You know I don't give a shit, right?"

"Yeah, but I still ask anyway."

"Heh." He took a longer drink, and V decided to limit him to one just so he wouldn't have to manage a hangover too. "Some days you don't make any fucking sense."

Her nails picked at the label on her beer, peeling it off, bit by bit. "And others?"

"You just do."

V chewed on her lip as she switched her attention back to the show and it took her a few seconds to notice him holding out his bottle to her. It didn't click at first, but when it did she lifted hers and let them touch.

The tiny clink that resulted from her mini-toast barely counted as a sound, but it made him grin anyway.


	23. Chapter 23

SR1! V gets in some much needed shooting practice not too long after reclaiming the Saints' territory at the start of the game.

* * *

"Shit." V's hand trembled as she examined her last shot, still off by a foot or so. It was better than the previous one, but when you started off bad, moving up from awful wasn't a huge feat.

With a few weeks under her belt at the improvised range set up in the back of the church she'd hoped to see more improvement. Instead, she was sure that the range was trying to pull as much blood, sweat, and tears from her as possible. She swore again when her adjustments did nothing, and the only other guy at the range with her gave her a wary look before going back to his own shooting. When he hit the bulls-eye her frustration hit a peak, making her shots even more wild.

"Fucking hell," she said, reloading slowly. It was like her run with Julius and Troy again. The adrenaline had kept her moving, but it hadn't done anything for her aim until she'd picked up a VK's SMG. The great thing about it? More shots, more hits. The bad thing about it? No real need to aim. So, while the two men had been okay with her run, she'd gotten through it on sheer dumb luck alone, and she was not going to give them another chance to find out just how shitty she was.

Besides, she had a nice handgun to continue breaking in, and she wasn't about to let it gather dust. Not after the cash Troy had put forward for it.

She turned the gun over as she checked it, and had to admire it. The afternoon sun caught it just right and she shook her head. "Shame, really. Pretty thing like you stuck with me? I'm so sorry."

"Don't know about that, kid." Her heart jumped and she clapped a hand over her mouth as she turned around. Troy didn't exactly announce his presence, and now was no exception, as he stood with his cigarette between his fingers. "You're acting like the thing's cursed with you."

V flushed and held up the weapon in question. "It is. And that's not even getting into the fact that you wasted your money on a gun that I can't use properly. Would've been better off getting me a hose."

Troy thought that over as her silent companion skulked off, and she noticed that seemed to be a thing that happened whenever he'd enter a room. You either stood up straighter or made yourself scarce, because there was fucking up, and then there was fucking up in front of Julius's number two. It wasn't going to do you any favors in the long term.

Hell, it wasn't doing her any favors. She was racking up idiot points left and right, and wondered if Troy would ever call her on it. He seemed like a decent guy, but that kind of patience had to run out at some point, and she did not want it to be because of her screw ups.

"That's a special order. Better not to fuck around with that," he said, taking a few steps closer. "What's bothering you?"

She sighed. "I'm kind of shit at this. Which is why I asked for a hose, because SMGs really are a lot more forgiving. Or maybe I just don't have the patience for this."

"Aiming? Thought all you had to do was keep it in front of you and pull the trigger." She rolled her eyes and he crossed his arms. "It's not supposed to be easy. Some take to it better than others, but it's not like in the movies."

"Even with half of the Hollywood style shit you guys keep on pulling?" She mimicked his stance as she pretended to aim at the target and fire. "Stuff that shouldn't work, but does? You've all got some fucking secrets to share then."

"Is that how I do it?"

A grin eased its way onto his face and she nearly fumbled her response. "Yeah. You tilt your fucking gun to that stupid angle and it still manages to do exactly what you want it to do."

He laughed and that made it even worse. "Stupid, eh? Show me how it's supposed to be done then."

"Still working on that, chief," V mumbled, hefting the gun in her right hand. The two shots she let off were some of the worst she'd seen that day, she let out a noise of frustration. It was him. It was all him, and she felt the hole that she was digging get even deeper.

"Hey, you hit the target. That's better than most." She gave Troy a withering look, but he shrugged it off. "I mean it. You want to know something else? Your grouping's pretty good. Even though they were off, they're still close together, so just adjust your aim and you should be able to pull off some mean double-taps."

That was a compliment. "Mean ones? You're reaching."

He took one last drag of his cigarette and crushed it under his heel. "Reaching would be telling you you're a few practices away from the Olympics. Here, you're not bad. At least if you aim at a guy and shoot twice you'll hit him in the same spot, right?"

A compliment wrapped in a lovely sarcastic bow. She kind of liked that. "Shut up. That's a nice way of saying I'm not entirely a lost cause."

"Not the one you think you are." He walked up and tapped her left elbow. "Use your other arm to steady your hand. You're shaking just enough to throw your shot off, and until your main arm's good enough to stand on its own this is the only thing that'll help. You need to build up your basics before you add a flourish."

She adjusted her hold, but he had to step in again, this time to fix her grip. It didn't take long, but she wondered just when she'd started holding her breath. "...Like this?"

"Yep. Get used to that for a while and it'll help. Though your posture's off-" He put a hand on her back and she went rigid. "You've got to relax. The recoil's going to be bad enough, but you can't respond well if you're too busy waiting for it."

Then he tried fixing her shoulders and she knew she was going to chew a hole through her lip. "Sure."

"Sure?" He raised an eyebrow and she made a point not to look right at him. "That's making me feel confident. You want a better demonstration?"

_Yes. No. _V didn't answer and he continued.

"You've got to watch your feet too. Being aware of where they are is pretty fucking important." Troy lightly kicked the back of one of her boots and she moved it into what she hoped was the right position. "Okay. You got it?"

"Yeah." He let go and she let herself breathe for a bit before focusing her aim. Then she fired. It was off still, but she made a quick correction and tried again. The improvement showed and she had to smile.

"Looking good, kid. Keep up with that, and you'll be a pro in no time."

"Now you're laying it on a bit thick," she said, glancing over at him.

"Sure." The corner of his mouth curved up, and she flashed him the finger. "What? You never know."

"Where's my gold star then, teach?" she asked, putting the gun away.

He lit a new cigarette and by the time he exhaled she found her fingers itching for one. "Got to earn it first. Unless you want one for effort?"

"Bite me. Can I get a cigarette instead?"

It took him a moment, but instead of reaching for the pack in his pocket, he slipped a hand into the pocket of her hoodie. The pack was out before she could think of swearing at him, and he held the cigarette out almost innocently.

She took it – making sure to snag the pack back too - and tried not to think about the fact that he knew which pocket to pick. Then decided to pull an actual dare. "Got a light?"

Her lighter was in her other pocket. Her jean pocket. Troy's eyes flicked to the one in question briefly, and for a second she believed he might actually go for it. Bastard knew exactly where it was, and only needed to take it.

...But all he did was reach for his own, each motion calm and measured. A small part of her was actually disappointed at that.

It flashed and she turned away as soon as her cigarette was lit. "Thanks. Got any other bits of wisdom to share?"

"Yeah, plenty," he said, heading back towards the church. "Maybe for next time, eh?"

V blew out a long stream of smoke and kept her smile hidden until he'd left. "Maybe."


	24. Chapter 24

SR1, and a chance to go over just how ridiculous the Freckle Bitch's commercials are. Still early on, though, in the middle of the first chunk of the Carnales missions.

* * *

"Is that a bus?" V put her tray down at the table Dex and Troy were sitting at outside, and lo and behold, a schoolbus was parked right in the Freckle Bitch's drive-thru lane. "What the fuck? We never got to do that."

"I, uh, don't think that's supposed to be a common thing," Troy said, watching the scene with horrified interest. The window asked for their order and yells started coming at it from every angle. "Fuck. That's going to take a while."

Dex took a bite of his burger and shook his head. "And the line behind them's going to give the girl hell too. Fucking shame."

"I'm so glad to be done with that crap. That would've ruined my week, easy." V picked up her burger and pulled the pickles out, only noticing their curious expressions after the second one hit her tray. "Really. It sucked."

"You worked here?" Troy asked, pointing right at the front doors. "At Freckle Bitch's? Behind the counter, in the window, all that?"

V leaned forward on her elbows. "Hell, I did time in the truck. Drove the fucking thing around and nearly flipped it. Could've crushed a few kids with the hamburger bun in the back too, but they dodged it. Fun times."

The shock on Dex's face lingered for a bit then faded into pure amusement. "That is fucking priceless. Never would've pegged you for one of their girls."

"I'm a redhead with freckles. They didn't want to pass that up, and I was desperate for cash, so..."

"Freckles? I know you've got a few, but I don't know if we're talking mascot-grade." Dex said, checking her over.

"She's covered in them. Not that hard to miss, man." Troy popped a fry into his mouth and almost missed the incredulous look that Dex was aiming at him. "What?"

"Can we switch topics?" V asked, half tempted to pull her hat down. "Or just go back to freckle bitches that aren't me?"

Dex rubbed his temples and sighed. "Yeah, sure. It's just crazy to be talking about this shit, you know?"

"This is kinda the Saints' stomping ground, isn't it? Maybe it was just meant to be. You're all lucky I can still stomach the food after finding out what goes into it, but every time I hear one of the damn commercials I want to rip my radio out."

She reached over to steal a few of Troy's fries and he didn't bother to slap her hand away. "Can't imagine why you wouldn't be a fan."

"You've heard this shit. Just imagine having to say it day in and day out for a whole damn year. We had it down to the point where I was reciting it in my sleep. My first words for the day would be about the Big Swallow, or the Twins. I'd get drunk and go on about the specials to the first person who'd walk up to me, and I know they wondered if I was trying to come on to them."

"Couldn't have been that bad." Dex said, dismissing it.

_You just had to do that didn't you? Damn. _After that there was no way they weren't getting a demonstration.

V cleared her throat and jumped right in. "Welcome to Freckle Bitch's, where you can't beat our meat! What's been on your mind today? Do you have the need to grip two sizable pieces of our bazooms in your hands, or is that not enough? Are you thinking of something larger? Leaner? Fuller? I know I have been, and boy do I have something in mind for you." Troy rolled his eyes and V amped up her breathy tone just for him. "It's something we save for our special customers. A hot beef injection the likes you've never seen." Dex was trying not to laugh, and V just kept on going. "The way it just slides down your throat, you'll relish the finish. The way the flavor just explodes in your mouth."

She moaned loud enough that anyone within earshot could hear her and Troy nearly choked on his soda. Dex lost it at that point, and she stood up to give both a polite bow as they struggled to compose themselves. The family sitting nearby wasn't as gracious as they shooed their children away into their minivan, but she didn't care. They heard worse on network TV every day, or at least she did when she was a kid. Who knew what they hell they were listening to now.

"You're kidding. You did not actually say any of that shit to people," Dex asked, wiping his eyes.

"Oh yeah. I did, and if I wanted to rake in the cash I did it with a smile." She sat down and winked at Troy who'd just recovered from his coughing fit, but he didn't play along. Instead his lips were drawn into a thin line, and she wasn't sure what to do with that. "Customer satisfaction guaranteed after all."

Dex laughed again and she moved her attention back to him. "For real? I know the girls at the O-Rings got creative whenever a mike was nearby, but not like that."

"There was a script, but some days it was more entertaining to put your own spin on things. When you're bored and no one's buying you let your mind wander, and it can come up with some wild stuff. Didn't always go well though, because even with the script it always seemed like I was trying to proposition someone." She sipped more of her milkshake and sighed. "God, I felt like a phone sex operator."

"Saying shit like that? I'm not surprised," Troy replied, still avoiding her eyes.

"I did exaggerate some parts, but you've all heard the commercials. It's a little fucked up, and we haven't even gone over the products." Her hand checked her funbag, and she pulled out the toy waiting for her. "Ooh, lucky me. A pearl necklace."

Troy stood up and grabbed the tray in front of him, shoving most of their trash onto it. "Lucky you. Don't we have business to go over?"

"Yeah, yeah. No need to rush," Dex said to his back as he went towards the trash cans. "Ruffled him good there."

V fiddled with the plastic wrapped around the necklace and shrugged. "How would you feel if you almost choked to death at a Freckle Bitch's? I think I'd be a little pissed."

"Especially after hearing that? It'd be a hell of a way to go." Dex pulled out a small map and V put the toy aside to examine the notes scratched onto it. "But he does have a point. Can't mix business with too much pleasure."

She'd seen this map before, or one like it hung back at the church. This one was rougher around the edges, and she could see that Dex had changed a few things since the last time she had seen it. The gangs had the city pretty evenly split, but things were changing. Purple had weaved its way in, and V hoped to see a lot more of it before their work was done.

"I've been hearing rumors that there's a factory that the Carnales have been staking out for their weapons. Got quite the operation going, and they're churning out shit left and right. The thing about this place is that we have no idea what kind of resistance we're talking about. There's heavy, and then there's metric fucktons of heavy. That's where you come in. We need someone to get close and clear things up. Give us more of an idea of what we're working with."

"Sounds like fun. You want me to slip in and be all stealthy? I can try that-"

"No, none of that ninja shit," Troy interrupted, not bothering to sit back down. "I'm sending a few of my crew with you, and all you're going to do is drive by, get a closer look, and leave. Nothing else."

"You're sending some babysitters with me? Why the fuck for?" she asked, getting irritated.

"To keep you covered while you do. Check your pride at the door, kid, because a factory like that is going to be packed full of shit ready to kill you. Anyone that goes near it is going to have a crew with them."

"Anyone's right. Even Johnny." Dex circled the spot with his finger and tapped it. "You've got to be careful with this. Right now we can handle what they're throwing at us, but we don't need any extra heat from them if we can avoid it. Got it?"

V tried to keep the scowl off of her face, but knew it was slipping through. "Got it."

* * *

"He really knows how to piss me off some days," V muttered to herself as she checked her pistol. "Pushes my buttons and drives me up a wall in no time flat."

"Who?" Dee asked, peeking over the side of the passenger seat. "Stu do something stupid again?"

"No, it's...it's nothing. Just silly shit. I'm surprised you two aren't complaining much."

"About what?"

Luis took the next turn calmly, and V perched herself between both of their seats. "Taking me out here."

Dee grinned. "Ah, that's what's up. You know if you want to bitch him out now I won't stop you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. It just makes me mad that he doesn't trust me to handle this by myself." All the protective older guardian bullshit bothered her too, but only because Troy would push it on her then top it all off by calling her kid. "I'm not five and about to hit my first tilt-a-whirl."

"But you really can't sneak worth shit. Sorry to break it to you, sweets," Dee said. "That's why we're all here wearing blue and keeping our damn fingers crossed. You've got to have an escape plan. Though he sure knows how to pick 'em, because if he really wanted you to behave responsibly he wouldn't have sent us."

Luis laughed, and even V had to smile. "She makes a great point, eh?"

"Why do you think I avoid arguing with her? I lose that fight before I begin it." V checked her gun for the last time and slipped it into her usual hiding place as Luis dimmed the lights. He pulled the car off of the road into the brush down the way from the factory and she felt ready to jump out of the seat. "We are so getting blasted after this."

"Promise?" Dee asked, staring ahead at what waited for them.

V nodded. "Only if you remember the limes."

Once the car was about as hidden as it could get, all three made their way across the road, and jumped the fence leading to the factory's scrapyard. Frames of old trucks and other assorted crap littered the area, and they moved quickly and quietly through cover as they listened for any voices.

Luis held up a hand and pointed to one man hanging by the scrapyard's only building. It appeared to be an office, but no lights were on, and from here it was hard to tell if he was even flying Carnales colors.

"Hey," Dee whispered. "I think he's that bum that hangs by the church on Tuesdays. See the bottle? That's his hooch."

V couldn't make out the type of bottle, but he did look familiar. She also did the mental math and realized that today was a Thursday. "Wonder if he makes the rounds with the others too."

"It'll remain a mystery," Luis replied, urging them to move forward.

The man didn't even bother to acknowledge them as they passed him, and when Luis motioned for them to get down V fell flat on her face. She turned to the side when she was sure that she wasn't being shot at and felt her breath burn in her lungs. The large pile of dirt loomed before them, and off to their left there was a small flash of light that flickered then disappeared.

_A lighter? _V waited for it to come back and it did, in another person's hand. Two of them. _Shit. _

She didn't want to move, but Dee crawled forward up towards the hill and Luis nudged her in the shoulder until she did so as well. The men were too caught up in their conversation to glance their way, and the black, starless sky above gave them just enough cover to be brave. ...And stupid, but hell, no one ever got a plan done by thinking about it.

The amount of noise they were making should've been enough to set someone off, but no one said a thing as they kept on going, and when they reached the top V almost didn't know what to do with the opportunity.

"V," Luis hissed. "Want to make with the photos now, or later when we're bleeding out?"

"Screw you, man." She started digging for her phone and eased it across the dirt beneath them until it was in front of her. "Wait. This thing isn't fucking silent."

"You serious?" Dee let out a good string of things V hadn't heard in a while and pushed her phone her way. "Hurry up, okay?"

Time slowed to a stop as each photo was set up and taken, and V felt the damn thing begin to quake in her hands. Luis touched her forearm, then held it, and she took three more before calling it done. When the phone was safely back with Dee, V took the chance to stare at the pipes stretching up towards the sky. Strange how she'd driven by this spot so many times, but only now really had a chance to look at it.

"Can we get the fuck out of here now?"

Dee's words brought her back and V realized they'd been up here for a long time. Much longer than what was probably healthy. "Yeah. Sounds good. Now to see if we can we can make this work without me choking on the last step. What do you think?"

"Best two out of three."

"Shut up."

* * *

Turns out she only needed one. That never happened, and the minute they crawled back into their getaway car she highfived both of them and tried not to faint in the backseat.

The radio crackled to life as they merged back into traffic, and V knew the voice before it was able to finish a sentence. _"-and I'm all grown-up now. So, why don't you stop on by-"_

"You know what?" she asked no one in particular. "Why don't we?"

Luis checked his mirror. "We what?"

"Stop on by and see what's really in the sauce they call special. You think you've got an idea, but I know what gives it its zip. Zip _and_ pizazz."

"We don't want to know, do we?" Dee asked, too tired to keep from yawning.

"No, but what's the fun of keeping that a secret anyway?" V teased, staring up at the ceiling as she stretched along the seats. "Half the fun of insider secrets is spilling them."

"Wait, you worked there?" Luis did a double-take and V groaned.

In the meantime, the commercial had looped back to its very start, and V hated the way she knew every word by heart.


	25. Chapter 25

Got a prompt that begged to be the start of a longer piece, so I wrote out this beginning to get the setup down just in case more parts could be added later. Takes place between SR2 and 3, and the prompt itself was the very first sentence!

* * *

Finding the Chief of Police bound and gagged in the trunk of her car was not the way V had expected to start her day.

No, she had planned on going down to grab an early post-hangover breakfast at Freckle Bitch's, possibly after dragging Johnny's ass along with her, and had left the Halberd outside because she didn't give a fuck to store it properly. It was going to be another day spent trying to stay two steps ahead of the local media blitz.

Now she was wondering if Troy had even been left breathing.

She reached out to him, her heart hammering in her chest, and yanked down the gag. Then her fingers went for his pulse. It was beating steadily, and it made her gasp in relief. "Oh, Jesus. Thank you, thank you..." He shifted slightly, and she ran a hand gently through his hair. "Troy?"

"...V?"

He slowly opened his eyes, and she quickly got to work on untying his wrists and ankles. His uniform was still on, likely left from the night before, and she noted the large, dark bruise forming on his temple.

"Oh, fuck. I hate Mondays," he muttered as she helped him slowly sit up.

"It's Tuesday, Troy," she told him as she rested her hands on his shoulders, and he blinked back at her unsteadily.

He groaned and put a hand over his eyes. "Well, I hate Tuesdays too. They're piss-poor Mondays."

She wanted to grab him and hold him, but couldn't stop shaking. Instead she reminded herself that he was injured and medical attention would probably be a very good idea right now. Digging her phone out, she searched for their personal doctor to keep any attention down and checked Troy over while she waited for her to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"You need to get the fuck over the Saints HQ right now, doc. Serious business."

Troy watched her make the call, slowly gaining awareness back, and she put a hand on his cheek as Dr. Allen cleared her throat. _"Ms. V, is this serious in terms of what happened back around the 4__th__ of July, or serious in terms of-"_

"Get over here. _Please._"

The shuffling that had been going on in the background stopped. _"...I see. I'll be there shortly."_

She hung up and V sighed. "You can't walk, can you?"

"I can try," Troy said, the corner of his mouth curving up. "Things are swimming a bit, but it's the fucking headache that's killing me."

"God, I don't know if I even want to try to get you upstairs." She ran through a list of ideas, and threw her hands up when only one seemed to make sense. "Fuck it." She dialed the number and let it ring.

"_Shit, V. The fuck are you calling me for? You're a few rooms down," _Gat mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Johnny, someone left Troy in the back of my car. I need you to get out here and help me get him inside."

"_What? He still breathing?"_

"Yes," she told him, and her voice wavered.

He was silent on the other end for a minute, but she heard him start to move around. _"Be there in five."_

* * *

Johnny took one look at Troy and shook his head. "Now you've done it."

"What?" Troy asked, giving him a lopsided smile. "Pissed off some fucker crazier than you? Probably."

"Say that again and you're walking," Gat replied, frowning as he examined the rear of the Halberd. V followed his eyes and noticed a few dings at the bottom where the trunk would've engaged, showing that it might've been forced open. "Still got two working legs. Don't see what the problem is."

Troy sat on the edge of the trunk and V took one of his arms as he tried to stand. Johnny quickly grabbed him when that failed, and slung his arm over his shoulder. "Ah, fuck." Troy closed his eyes and V took his other arm. "I'm swimming laps."

"You making out what he's saying?" Gat asked, turning to her.

"Yeah, we need to get him upstairs, because nonsense is bad. Very bad."

This exchange continued into the the elevator and while Troy wasn't entirely present, he did talk, and Johnny's needling only encouraged him to continue. The relief she felt from that kept her moving, and they placed him in one of the spare bedrooms that didn't see a lot of traffic.

The wait after that nearly drove her nuts, however, and she was ready to jump to word association games when the doctor finally showed up and kicked them out.

That was almost even worse.

"Say it."

V was pacing a hole into the carpet and Johnny just stood there on the other side of the room, his arms crossed. "What?"

"Whatever's on your mind right now, because I can't get mine to stop."

Gat watched her make another round and didn't move from his post by the door. "Don't know about that. Though he's done it this time. Must've pissed off someone bad, and for Troy that shit's easy."

"Really? Hadn't noticed."

"Problem there's who."

V stopped and tried tallying a list, but everything was scattered. She wanted to act, not plan and sit on the fact that someone knew to aim at Troy. Knew enough to place him in her car specifically, and chose not to kill him.

She wanted to wrap her hands around their neck and choke the life out of them.

"Yeah, I get that," she threw out, returning to her pacing. "Could be anyone left over from before, though. Old Ronin, Samedi, Brotherhood. Could be even older than that. They just have to know a handful of facts about Troy, and who doesn't know that he was with the Saints at this point? It's a fucking no-brainer."

Johnny nodded, and watched her carefully as she moved. "Who do you want on this?"

"Shaundi. She's got the best network, and I know she'll get this out fast and on the down-low. I do not want this broadcasted, because this son-of-a-bitch wants a big a reaction as possible. Well, they're not getting one." _Not until I can rip their fucking head off._

She stomped over to the door and put her ear to it. It was silent, and that made her swear loudly.

"V."

"Shouldn't she be done? It's taking way too damn long for it to be minor-"

"V." She turned to Gat and she recognized that expression. She hadn't seen it in a long time. "They're not getting away."

"They're running right now," she said, her voice quiet.

"They're waiting. Showy fuckers always do."

She let that sink in for a few seconds, then felt a smile tug at her lips. "They do, don't they?"

The smile he gave her back was full of promise and she was glad to have it.

Ten more minutes passed before anything happened. She'd almost resumed her circuit, when the door popped open and Dr. Allen closed it behind her. "What's the damage, doc?"

"Damage? Enough to require better medical attention. I'm seeing enough symptoms to say that he could have a concussion, and the equipment we have here isn't enough to assess it. He needs to go to the hospital, and I'm prepared to call an ambulance as soon as this conversation is over."

That almost immediately broke her first declaration, but it was stupid to argue it. Especially since her common sense kicked in at that moment and reminded her that the police department was likely wondering just where the hell he was. He couldn't stay as much as she wanted him to.

"Fine. Get him loaded up and ready to go, because we're going to be neck-deep in cops at some point anyway. Don't want this going anywhere but here."

"I'll be down the hall, but call me if anything changes."

She pulled out her phone and V hesitated before going inside. Johnny hadn't moved an inch. "Hey, you staying here, or...?"

"Yeah. I'll stay in case someone comes knocking."

Gat turned away after that, and she lingered until she was sure he wasn't going to say another word. She slipped through after that and closed the door as quietly as possible.

Troy didn't look good, but he was comfortable, and with no one else around she parked herself right by his bedside. The bruises were even more livid up close, however, and she felt her nails dig into her palms.

"I must really look like shit, eh?" he asked, blinking slowly. "Don't pull any punches."

"You've been punched enough for one day, Troy. Shut up." He tried to lift his arm up and she took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

He squeezed hers back, and she let herself focus on that for as long as she was able.


	26. Chapter 26

SRIV and a take on the boss/Johnny confession scene! Just getting these out as fast as they hit me.

This one does tie back to the other SRIV Johnny chapter which lives in the space before the last scene and after the last scene. It's a bit of a stretch, so I'm sorry if it's confusing to go from that to this to that to this. :(

* * *

It was driving her nuts. Slowly and surely as it kept picking at her.

The idea had already been present for a while now, but she'd pushed it into storage ages ago. Back when Johnny was still considered dead and not trapped.

She cared about him. That was already something well-known and familiar. The problem was when her heart tried to tell her that she _cared_ about him. That scared the shit out of her. Made her miserable, made her avoid most things that Johnny used to adore. Their movies, their shows, even to an extent their city.

It hurt less as time went on, however. What did it matter if she loved him? There was no harm in thinking fondly of an old friend, right? One who'd...passed on. It'd become another thing she'd learned to cope with, and covered up with silly declarations and memorials.

But this was not the same. He was here and the minute he'd stepped out in front of her, the genuine article, she'd known it was still there. That same feeling.

It was silly and stupid, but she cared, and she'd grown tired of hiding it.

Especially since the damn clock in her head had begun ticking again, and had been ticking for some time. Something was always waiting to happen, but how long would it take this time? Minutes, hours, days? Weeks? Time was at a premium, and they didn't have a lot of it to spare.

So if she was going to say something to finally put the damn idea to rest now was the time.

Or would be if she wasn't being such a chickenshit about it. V stabbed her breakfast with her fork and didn't bother to cut the protein square Kinzie had programmed one of the machines to spit out. Johnny sat on the other end, but had already polished off his portion. He had taken to flipping his knife like usual, and she watched him as she absently chewed on the corner of the square.

The others were scattered throughout the ship, some fulfilling tasks, while others looked for something to do. Since Gat had come aboard, he'd taken to working with her on most of their activities, meaning that most days they saw each other 24/7. Which left her with no real excuse as to why she wouldn't talk to him.

"You feeling okay, boss?"

He caught the knife and V put the square down. "Eh."

"Eh?"

"Yeah. One of those shitty days, I guess. Can't really tell them apart either, but it'll get better once we get back in the sim again."

"Right. Think I should take a look at our loadout here before we go?"

She tapped her nails on the table and nodded. "Why not? You never know when the Zin'll come knocking."

His chair skidded back as he got up and he gestured towards the armory. "You coming?"

"...In a little bit," she said, hesitating. He noticed it, but didn't say anything as he left the room. That left her stewing in her embarrassment, and in that moment she felt her temper flare. "The fuck am I doing?" she asked herself. "You don't get plans done by thinking about them. You do them for God's sake. Jesus." She got up and went right after him.

He was close to his usual spot when she caught up to him, and he didn't seem all that surprised. "That was fast."

V held up a hand. "Just listen to me for a few minutes, okay? I've got a couple of things to say, and I've got to get this off of my chest or I'm going to explode."

Now he definitely did look surprised, but he folded his arms and gave her the floor.

"We've known each other a long time. A hell of a long time, actually. You're the only one left that knew me back when I was playing at being a gangster, seeing if this life would agree with me, and the only one I had left when I woke up five years after that. You got me through that shit, Gat. Your support helped me get my act together and face the fact that I had some responsibilities to take up if we wanted the city back."

He shrugged, but V shook her head.

"I mean it, I was out of it and lost, but you kicked my ass into gear because you're Johnny Gat. Stilwater's poster boy and the scourge of law enforcement worldwide. Pretty nice if you ask me, but that's beside the point. For some reason I ended up with you as my best friend, and someone I couldn't get through my day without, so like hell was I going to disappoint you."

"Never have," he said, the corner of his mouth curved up.

"I know, but I know it wasn't easy to deal with the increase in publicity after that. The growth, the movies, the comics, the shows, all that shit. It was fun at first, but got old, and I know it was getting to you. I think I even had an idea why, but that doesn't matter now. What did matter was the fact that you still stood with us through that. With me. Side-by-side, right? You did that even then, and I was grateful as hell for it," she said, recalling the stress of the shoots and publicity stunts. "But then something happened. The Syndicate and that fucking plane, and...I had seven years to wonder what the hell I did wrong."

Johnny's eyes didn't leave her for a second and she swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat.

"What did I miss? What could I have done? There was no reason that I couldn't have stayed behind too, but that never occurred to me. Not until I'd touched the ground with Shaundi, and I was lost. I had a Johnny-shaped hole in my life that I couldn't fill with anything. Partying? Sex? I wasn't interested. Revenge was fun and all, but it's revenge. Been there, done that, and it still didn't fix anything. In fact, it only made me want you more, because nothing felt right. The city, the people, the fucking food. Do you know how hard it was to find a decent burger there? Fucking criminal."

He chuckled, and she wished it didn't hurt to hear it. It was still that odd brand of familiar that she'd missed, but knew, and she hadn't finished getting used to it again.

"But that's not what I'm trying to say. It's...it's funny how much you realize you need someone when you can't see them anymore. Can't bug the shit out of them, or see who could rack up enough minor traffic violations to piss off a cop first. Can't even call them late to see if they feel like a drive, or a conversation about the awful porno you'd TiVo-ed by accident. The others tried, but I didn't want anyone else for that. I wanted you. Needed you. Couldn't see anyone else but you." She pushed the words out, keeping them going, because everything needed to come out. "But I'm not Aisha, and I would never try to be her. She's too important, and I don't want to-"

He grabbed her. Took her firmly into his arms and kissed her with enough feeling to make her lose the rest of her sentence in him. Real, tangible him. "It's about respect, right?" he asked against her lips. "I've never fucking doubted that. Not once."

The wall hit her back and he kissed her harder, ran his hands over her, and she wanted him as close as possible.

The zipper broke on her suit when he forced it down, and his mouth traced every bit of skin he exposed. Then his hands followed, and they ground against each other, saying things anyone else would've left for private.

V tried to get his suit open too, before she remembered just where they were. The bright lights of the hall definitely were a strong reminder. "Johnny."

The zipper didn't go any further when he tugged it again, and he scowled at it. "Fucking piece of shit."

"Johnny. I think we should move."

The suit slid off of her shoulders and she felt his tongue run along her ear. "Not much for crowds, boss?"

"Not right now," she gasped, every inch of her on fire. All he'd have to do was work his hand between her legs and she'd come right in his hallway. Did she want that? To the point that she was ready to spread her legs wide. Did she feel like everyone needed to see or hear that? Not so much. "We're moving."

"I didn't hear you ask," he said, sliding his fingers over her stomach.

"Wasn't asking."

She grabbed the chains around his neck and pulled him through the small side entrance to the crew quarters. Partway down the hall Gat hefted her over his shoulder, and she yelped as he kept on moving towards her room. Then the doors opened and closed behind them, and she shifted so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

"See? That wasn't so bad," she stated.

"Right." He cupped the back of her head as his tongue slid into her mouth, teasing her briefly before pulling back. "Any other requests?"

"Oh? Are you seriously asking?"

His grin went sharp. "Nah, but what's the harm?"

Her muffled insult was barely heard as they fell onto the bed, his weight almost knocking the breath out of her. He pushed himself up shortly after and when she saw the knife come out she didn't even flinch. Not even when it sliced her suit the rest of the way down.

"Why am I not surprised?" V mused, helping him pull it off.

"Got to get it off somehow." She lifted herself up so he could slip it down her legs, and loved how warm his palms were on her thighs. "And you."

"Subtle. Real subtle."

"Doesn't matter long as it works, and I know you're wet right now."

He dragged her under him when she tried to sit up and didn't give her a chance to make another comeback. It was a miracle that her underwear didn't tear when he got it tangled around her knees, and she forced him onto his back when his knife drifted far too close to her bra straps. "Not happening."

She chucked it into the wall and the smirk that earned was beautiful. "Sure thing, boss."

He then tried to push her off of him, but she held him down. "You heard me."

His breathing picked up and she knew she wasn't going to win this. Not in the end, but she was going to have a hell of a time on the way down.

The zipper to Johnny's suit dropped and he sat up to kiss her, shrugging out of it with her help once she'd gotten her bra off. Her nails trailed down a few of the scars revealed to her, and he crushed her to him, his fingers tangled in her hair. His sunglasses stared back at her, but he flicked them off, almost casually tossing them towards the end of the bed.

"You would find a way to break them," he murmured, his dark eyes glinting.

She'd seen them only a handful of times, but never with a look like that. "Why aren't you inside me yet?"

He laughed. "Fucking impatient. Got to learn some self-control, V."

"You shut the fuck up, because I'm not going to hear you talk to me about that-"

Her face went into the mattress and she swore loudly. Then his mouth sucked hard on the back of her neck and she gasped when his body brushed her back. The full length of him resting against her made her moan when he moved. Then his fingers followed, and she raised her hips as high as she was able.

"Yes, you are."

"Fuck you say?" she asked, gasping when he began to slide his fingers in and out.

"You are," he challenged, his voice low in V's ear, "and you might even like it. "

Her hips bucked against his hand and she grit her teeth. "Sure about that?"

"I know it."

He let go of her and spread her legs further to lick her, pinning her legs down. That had her breathing fast and struggling not to kick him as he drew every possible noise out of her. "Motherfucker," she got out, clawing at the sheets.

His teeth grazed the inside of her thigh, scratching her just enough to feel it. The sharp suck was going to leave a mark, however, and she pushed him back once his mouth left her skin. This gave her enough space to turn over and when she dragged him up he was ready to kiss her.

Her fingers traced over him, and she nearly laughed when she got a good look. "Shit. I always wondered if you were a liar."

"No point," he groaned when she started stroking him. "Figured I'd be up front about it."

"To some dumb kid who was trying to impress you? Great job, there. It's almost as if you wanted me to think about your dick."

"Maybe. You're the one who's still thinking about it now."

"Shut up."

She pulled away to take him into her mouth and tried to lick as much of him as possible. His hands groped for her as she worked, making her shift positions, and when he began to finger her, she found it an interesting challenge to fight against. She sucked harder as he picked up speed, and when his motions paused she felt a swell of pride grow as he moaned her name.

Then he turned her onto her back again, and buried his face between her legs. Her knees were shaking within minutes. This trade off continued until she was weak-limbed and kissing him like crazy, barking at him to grab a condom so they could just fuck each other already.

Not at all romantic, but she didn't need to hear a single declaration, not with the way he kept on looking at her.

Johnny got the condom on while she tried to climb onto him, and when he pushed inside she held on tight enough to bruise. He pushed her down and lifted one of her legs to angle deep, and she knew her throat was going to be raw tomorrow as well.

But she wanted that. She could feel that, feel him. It was real as real could get, and she wanted every memento, down to the smallest scratch or word.

Everything had been too short with them. Too short or gone too soon, and she was done living by that. This was them, now, and she wasn't going to waste it.

Not when they could have this.


	27. Chapter 27

SR1 back to the point right before the Rollerz race! Throw on some bad techno (or good, your call), and pretend it's being blared a bit.

* * *

This was new. Then again, V didn't spend a lot of time over on this side of the bridge, so places like this were a bit out of the way.

With this kind of music running through her though, she might be willing to make a return trip. The strobe light went blue, then white, and she tried to pick Lin out of the crowd and smoke. It wasn't until someone's hand closed around her wrist that she realized she could've called, and Lin chuckled at the way she jumped.

"You are jumpy. Relax. Nothing to worry about here."

V felt her tug her arm, and the two drifted into the crowd, taking up their movements. It was heady, and she grabbed the moment for all it was worth.

Lin did not hesitate to dance close to her, but she was dancing with her just as much as she was dancing with the others. V also found herself getting tangled with the crowd as a whole, and found it difficult to mind when what mattered was the movement. The beat. It was almost too easy to lose herself.

The other woman took her hand again after a while, and V knew it was time to wake up. They sidled up to the bar and Lin made a gesture to the bartender before looking back at her. "Club girl?"

"Sort of. Depends on the company."

Lin smirked. "You haven't been to enough shitty clubs. Good company can only take you so far." The bartender dropped of her drinks and Lin immediately pounded hers back without a flinch. "I've been working on something that'll show the Rollerz not to fuck with us. Think you can handle it?"

"Oh, yeah," V replied too fast.

She had 'eager to please' written all over her, but Lin didn't seem put off by it, only amused. "Good. You can chase down cars, but here it's not about damaging them. It's about the driver. I want him mad. I want him to look over at you and see nothing but a pair of tits on the road, and I want you to make him regret it. Sound good?"

_Amazing, actually._ "I'll make it hurt, but how?"

"Samson's rigged their cars to blow, but there's a bit of a trick to it. They have to hit the NOS. Get them riled up enough to need it, and it'll set the charges off." She mimicked the boom, and V felt a shiver run down her back. "It'll be something else."

Lin handed her the other drink and she drank half without testing it first. Something high-proof hit her system, and she did her best not to cough. "Looking forward to it."

"Thought you might. You're dealing with a bunch of men that are thinking with their dicks, not their heads. They think they can drive, but they're nothing. Play them at their own game and get them distracted. Low, sheer, easy. Hit any of those points while avoiding purple and they'll be too busy looking at you to handle the wheel or the path they're taking. Nothing sweeter than payback to a bunch of assholes, is there?"

The rest of the drink disappeared and V knew this was going to be fun. "Fuck no. Just say the word and it's happening."

Lin's lips curved up a hair. "Tomorrow you'll get your car. Show up to the address here and make them pay. You'll have a tagalong, but he's there for insurance. You should be able to handle everything else."

A paper slid along the counter, and V snagged it before Lin merged back into the dancing crowd.

* * *

Night was creeping up on the city again when she found herself parked up in the suburbs. The classier setting put her on edge, but that was what happened when half the people living there dismissed her with a glance.

And now instead of her usual hat, hoodie, and jeans, she was wearing a red tube top and short denim skirt. Even had her hair down, with some fancy eyeliner for good measure. The whole ensemble got her almost double the disapproval, and she was even more determined to tell them all to go fuck themselves.

She was putting on some lip gloss with a mirror she'd borrowed from her friend, when she heard a car pull up. The paint was a dead giveaway, and when Troy stepped out she felt her heart drop right into her stomach.

Then he got a good look at her. He paused, blinked, and she felt his eyes move from top to bottom in a very careful path as he approached her. "You look..."

"Underdressed. I know," she said, hoping she'd beat him to the punch. He'd removed all purple in favor of a dark buttoned up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of jeans. Not far from his usual, but he looked nice. She felt ridiculous standing next to him. "You don't look happy."

Troy frowned. "Neither do you."

"Hey, surprised doesn't equal unhappy. I'm just amused that you're my backup."

"I don't strike you as the racing type?" The look she gave him only seemed to annoy him more. "Well, get over it, because I'm what you've got. You sure you can even drive in those?"

She glanced down at the heel on her red boots and felt offended. "Yeah. How do you think I got here?"

"Nothing short of a miracle," he said under his breath as he puffed away at his cigarette.

He'd never been this degree of pissy around her before, and it confused her when it wasn't bugging the crap out of her. "Are we good to go, because up until now I was actually glad to see you."

He opened his mouth to say something, but gave it a moment before sighing. "Fuck. I wasn't trying to jump down your throat. It's just...this. All the hoops we're jumping through. It's silly shit in the hopes that we're making progress." For a moment he seemed weary and drained, but he covered it in his usual calm. "But that's part of the risk, eh? You never know until you find out. Ready?"

She nodded and he held up a set of keys. His keys.

"You going to treat my lady with respect?"

"No, I promise to be her ruin," she joked, her lips curving up, "but I'll at least make it fun. Guaranteed."

* * *

"I think I've seen this movie before."

Troy laughed. "Yeah, I get what you're talking about. Probably got the idea to do this after some reruns at midnight, but doing doughnuts in your neighbor's lawn doesn't count."

V pulled into the area where the cars were scattered and was a bit amazed at all the blue. The party in the street was one of the more active ones she'd stumbled on, but racing wasn't her gig. If this was how a bunch of kids in the burbs hung out, she wondered just how crazy it got in Chinatown.

"Tell me I'm not seeing glowsticks over there," V said, noticing something pink in the distance.

"You're not."

"Liar."

She shut the car off and took in the music pounding just outside the window. It was just her kind of music, thumping bass, with just enough rhythm to get you on the dance floor. Shame she'd be doing more driving than dancing, but there was nothing wrong with letting it add some sway to her step now.

"Showtime."

She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door, making him glance her way. "What are you doing?"

"Can't really play my role well in here, eh? It's better if I have a stage."

Her grin went suggestive as she closed it behind her and trailed a finger along the side of the Zircon. It shone bright up close like this, and she found herself wondering how it'd handle the road in her hands. It was steady in Troy's, but she wanted to see it fly. Wanted to see what she could draw out of it.

She sat on the corner of the hood and crossed her legs. The short skirt rode high, and she did her best to appear disinterested when a few began to look her way. When she heard Troy's door open behind her she let a grin show through, however, and gestured him over with a finger.

If she thought she had nonchalance down, he had it mastered. He took a long drag of his dwindling cigarette before he took his spot beside her, and when he did she leaned into his space just enough to catch a hint of the cologne he was wearing.

"Want to light me one?"

He didn't turn his head, but she could feel his eyes on her as he put his old cigarette out on the ground and got his pack out.

The whole process of getting it lit was a careful act on both parts, but as he did she couldn't help but admire the way he guided the flame. Then she stole the lighter to help him, but he took her wrist and guided it too. It seemed to take longer for his cigarette to catch as his fingers pressed into her skin, but when it did he gave her arm a light squeeze before letting it go.

That left her scattered, and she had no choice but to retreat back into the disinterested bubble she'd crafted for herself. "Watch it, there."

He didn't say anything in response, but his eyes told her enough.

Lucky for her the whistling started then, and the tell-tale sign of a group of assholes helped to pull her attention away from the warm feeling settling over her.

"That your boy's car?" One guy leered at her from the window of his, and he couldn't have been older than her by a couple of years. Judging from behavior, however? He was short by at least five.

She smiled, but kept it cold. "No."

"Nah, you're messing with me, girl."

The leer got even more blatant, and she knew that Troy was tense beside her. He took his cigarette between his fingers, and somehow managed to keep a blank face. His tone, however, was something else. "Your parents know what you're doing with theirs, kid?"

That turned the other racer's expression ugly, and V couldn't help the smirk. "Probably not. If he plays nice, they might let him keep it on weekends."

"You shut your fucking mouth. At least I got mine without seeing its backseat."

She laughed, full-on laughed. "Hey, this is my baby. Doesn't matter what I did to earn it, because I can own it. Just because you had to suck some dick on the side to get yours boosted doesn't mean that you have to feel ashamed about it, man."

That got the other driver out of the car, and someone stepped in on his side to keep him in place. She snickered until Troy put a hand on her lower back and leaned in by her ear. "I think we're supposed to wait for them to hit the pavement. Want to cool it?"

She nodded stiffly and didn't dare to breathe until he'd moved away, otherwise she'd pick up on his cologne again. It fit him well, and the fact that she liked it didn't help any. Not when he was helping her shoot at the church, and certainly not now.

A few men started waving people towards their cars, and they took this as their cue to finally get ready. She slipped into the driver's seat and ran her fingers over the steering wheel, noting all the differences between this car and her own. It felt strange to be the one in control here, to be trusted with not just someone else's car, but Troy's.

She honestly wondered what the hell Lin was thinking, but another question popped up. It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Did you put your car up for this?"

The seatbelt almost slipped out of Troy's hand. "What?"

"Did you tell Lin that she could use your car for the race, or were you the first person she had in mind to drive?"

The surprise disappeared fast. "Who's in the driver's seat?"

"Me...?"

"You were always her first pick, kid. I just thought it might help if I got you a reliable ride."

She tried not to bristle at the kid remark, but grimaced. "Reliable? God, you really are acting as my babysitter here, aren't you?"

That made him frown back. "Hey, no one's babysitting anyone. You're here to piss them off, I'm here to piss them off. Between the two of us it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Oh, that stung. She fixed her eyes on the road and knew the temperature in the car had dropped a good ten degrees. "No. You got me going in record time."

She revved the car to drown him out, and pushed her hair out of her face. Then she flicked her cigarette out of the window. She didn't need that burning her on a bad turn. Troy kept his, though she knew it was going to be nothing but cinders by the time things were done.

He hadn't had her behind the wheel like this before, and she was determined to make it memorable.


End file.
